By Sohaib Shams
A Texas grand jury has indicted ICE agent Mario Alberto Morales, 33, on a charge of second-degree aggravated assault with a deadly weapon for intentionally striking a Mexican construction worker with his vehicle during a pursuit on October 10.
Surveillance and body camera footage contradict ICE account
Surveillance video shows an unmarked black Jeep Cherokee speeding over a median and driving toward Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, as he ran away. Body camera footage played at a news conference Friday captures Morales saying, "I was coming in and I hit him with the car." Parra Hernandez suffered a broken leg and was taken into custody after the collision.
Harris County District Attorney pursues case
Democrat District Attorney Sean Teare brought the indictment and said the widely circulated video clearly contradicts ICE's version of events. Teare is also investigating the fatal shooting of a Mexican homebuilder in July that sparked protests in Houston.
ICE calls indictment a political stunt
ICE denounced the charges as a "political stunt" and stood by Morales, claiming Parra Hernandez stepped in front of the vehicle. The agency asserted that local officials lack authority to investigate federal officers acting in the course of their duties, calling allegations of intentional striking "RECKLESS and FALSE."
Rare criminal charge against federal immigration officer
Very few federal officers have faced criminal charges for actions during the Trump administration's immigration crackdown, though some encounters have drawn scrutiny. The Houston case marks a notable exception.
