HOUSTON (AP) — A Texas prosecutor says a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement It appears the officer used a vehicle to intentionally hit a man who fled the scene in Houston and an investigation by his office could result in criminal charges.
Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, required surgery for a broken leg after being hit by a car Saturday, said Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL Houston, an immigrant rights organization that is helping the man’s family.
The encounter sparked fresh criticism of immigration enforcement in Houston, where local prosecutors also investigated a Fatal shooting in July by a federal immigration agent.
Harris County Prosecutor Sean Teare, a Democrat, said he was concerned about surveillance footage showing Parra Hernandez and another person jumping out of a white truck and running as a dark SUV pursued them. A vehicle hits Parra Hernández, who is seen on the ground a few seconds later.
“In a case like this, the most obvious criminal charge is aggravated assault with a deadly weapon,” Teare told FOX 26 Houston. “That means the car was used as a deadly weapon. And that’s certainly what appears to have happened based on the surveillance footage.”
Tim Oberle, an ICE spokesman in Houston, said in a statement sent to the Texas Tribune on Saturday that “As ICE agents attempted to apprehend the illegal aliens, Miguel Parra-Hernandez ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck.”
Spokespeople for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees ICE, did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.
Parra Hernandez has lived in the United States for 34 years and was on his way to work when the encounter began, according to Espinosa. Espinosa declined to share Parra Hernandez’s status.
He said he saw two ICE agents in Parra Hernández’s room while he visited her in the hospital.
“He already had surgery for the injury below the knee and now we are waiting for the swelling to go down in his ankle so we can have reconstructive surgery on the ankle,” Espinosa said.
Teare said ICE and DHS did not cooperate with his office during his investigation.
In July, Teare said DHS also ignored his request for information after an ICE agent dejected Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, 52 years old. The shooting was one at least 10 deaths involving meetings with immigration officials since the start of President Donald Trump’s mass deportation campaign.
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