- ICE’s Houston operation on October 10 left construction worker Miguel Parra Hernandez with three fractures to his right leg.
- The family says ICE’s wanted photograph showed a man who died in 2017, and provided his death certificate to investigators.
- The Harris County district attorney opened an aggravated assault investigation; DHS is reviewing body-camera video.
ICE said it was pursuing a man named Jose Mendoza-Cervantes in a Houston operation, but his daughter says he died in 2017. The photograph the agency circulated showed her father, she said, and the family supplied a Mexican death certificate listing his death year as 2017.
The ICE Houston operation unfolded on October 10, 2026, near Clay Road and Highway 6 in northwest Harris County. Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, a Mexican construction worker without legal status, was driving to work when federal immigration officers in unmarked vehicles tried to stop him.
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Parra Hernandez suffered three fractures to his right leg, along with injuries to his left leg, hip and ankle. He underwent surgery for a broken leg and remained hospitalized in ICE custody in mid-October.
ICE said officers were conducting a targeted enforcement operation. The agency said Parra Hernandez ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck.
The sheriff’s office and video accounts describe a fast-moving scene. The collision is under investigation.
The family says ICE’s wanted photograph showed a man who died in 2017
Jamie Jimenez, of Dallas, recognized the photograph ICE released as her father, Jose Hector Jimenez Mendoza. She first contacted FIEL Houston, which was assisting Parra Hernandez’s family, then reached reporter Jazmine Ulloa. “She wanted to come forward and clear his name,” Ulloa said.
Jimenez told Ulloa her father used aliases, including the name ICE gave for its target. The death certificate lists his name as J. Hector Jimenez Mendoza and identifies Laredo, Texas, as the place of death. Several sections, including his parents’ identities, addresses and cause of death, were blacked out.
FIEL said Jimenez Mendoza died while federal immigration authorities pursued him as he tried to reenter the United States. His family described the death as part of a separate pursuit near the southern border. They gave the certificate and other records to Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare.
Ulloa said her reporting corroborated the family’s account with photographs, the death certificate and Jimenez’s birth certificate, which names her father. A court-record search found charges matching those ICE attributed to its target, including driving-under-the-influence and unlawful-possession-of-a-weapon charges, under Jimenez Mendoza’s given name. Ulloa also noted that multiple people in Texas have variations of the name ICE released.
Jimenez’s husband, Andres Rendon, confirmed that the man was his wife’s deceased father. FIEL executive director Cesar Espinosa described Jimenez’s distress after seeing the photograph online and on ICE’s website.
“She called our office sobbing because she saw her dad’s picture all over the news, all over the ICE website, saying they were looking for her dad.”
ICE’s account conflicts with witnesses, local officials and video
ICE said officers saw Parra Hernandez with the target, tried to stop the vehicle and pursued both men after they fled on foot. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office said two men left a truck and ran; one escaped while an ICE vehicle struck Parra Hernandez.
Surveillance footage shows a black SUV crossing a median and moving toward a man running away. Another vehicle blocks the view of the impact, then the man appears on the ground. A separate description of footage said the SUV struck Parra Hernandez as he ran through a parking lot.
Harris County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre said the named target was not in Parra Hernandez’s vehicle. His attorney, Kim Bruno, said her client does not know the wanted man and that he was not in the truck.
At a Friday news conference, FIEL introduced the other man who fled with Parra Hernandez. He identified himself only as “Omar” and confirmed that he had been in the vehicle. FIEL said he had light-colored eyes, unlike the man in ICE’s photograph.
A search of Dallas County and Harris County court records found no criminal cases under the name ICE supplied. Espinosa challenged the agency’s account, saying, “ICE is lying. Either somebody is not telling the truth or all of a sudden these two ICE agents have developed a sixth sense and are able to see dead people.”
He also called on ICE “to tell the truth. Come clean and turn over all body cameras.” Espinosa said using a person’s identity to justify the operation was reckless and harmed families.
The district attorney opened an assault investigation as DHS reviews video
Teare, a Democrat, opened an investigation into whether the ICE agent who drove the vehicle could face aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges. He said video made it “pretty obvious” the agent intentionally struck and ran over Parra Hernandez. Investigators did not believe the collision was accidental, Teare said.
Teare also said investigators believed the vehicle that struck Parra Hernandez carried people detained in an earlier incident, and that its driver should not have been pursuing the construction worker. The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is conducting a separate investigation.
In a statement, Teare said: “ICE tactics in our community are growing more brazen and more dangerous. High-speed pursuits and aggressive operations on busy streets put everyone at risk.”
ICE rejected claims that an officer deliberately hit Parra Hernandez, calling them “RECKLESS and FALSE.” The agency said its officers are held to high standards of professionalism, integrity and ethical conduct.
A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said the agent had been placed on administrative leave during an active internal investigation. The spokesperson said leave was standard practice and did not indicate wrongdoing. On October 15, a senior DHS official said the agency was reviewing bodycam video internally and had not decided whether to release it.
The injured worker and a detained witness remain in federal custody
Parra Hernandez remained in federal custody at the hospital as FIEL sought his release before a transfer to a federal detention center. Bruno said he was suffering from depression, especially after learning he was not the operation’s target. “This never should have happened in the first place,” she said.
Luis Enrique Delfin Martinez, one of two men detained in a separate operation, was handcuffed in the back of the ICE vehicle when it struck Parra Hernandez. Martinez, who suffered soft-tissue injuries, is represented by Bruno. His sister, Nidia Delfín, called for his release so he could serve as a witness.
“He's still very concerned, still very afraid. He's not the same guy that was out last week.”
FIEL has asked that witnesses be protected from deportation while they assist the investigation. The group is also pressing for Parra Hernandez’s release before he leaves the hospital.
Parra Hernandez’s brother, identified as Roberto Parra in one account and Rodolfo Parra in another, said the brothers worked construction together all day. He said the family wanted his brother treated with humanity and noted that he had a family to support. Rodolfo Parra asked officials not to move him while he remained in a “delicate state of health,” adding that the family was continuing to seek justice.
Bruno called the news “beyond mind-blowing” and the use of the deceased man’s image “jaw-dropping.” Teare’s office has the family’s documentation, while DHS continues its internal review of the bodycam footage.
