A federal immigration officer in Texas has been indicted on an aggravated assault charge after prosecutors accused him of deliberately driving an SUV into a man who was fleeing on foot during an enforcement operation in Houston. Criminal charges against federal immigration officers over their conduct in the field have been relatively rare during President Donald Trump’s expanded immigration crackdown, even as a series of confrontations involving ICE and other federal agents have triggered investigations and disputes between federal and local authorities. Morales’ case is the first indictment of an immigration agent in Texas.
Mario Alberto Morales, 33, faces a second-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon over the October 10 encounter with Miguel Parra Hernandez, a 48-year-old Mexican national who suffered serious injuries and remains in ICE custody while receiving rehabilitation care. Local authorities said they had not taken Morales into custody as of Friday afternoon. The indictment follows a sharply disputed account of the encounter.
ICE initially said Parra Hernandez ran in front of an agency vehicle, while Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said video evidence shows Morales steering toward him. ICE has rejected allegations that the collision was intentional and called the prosecution a “political stunt.” Newsweek has contacted ICE, the Harris County District Attorney’s Office, Morales’ attorney and an attorney for Parra Hernandez for comment. The incident unfolded at about 7:30 a.m. on October 10 in northwest Harris County.
According to Teare, Morales was driving a 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee while pursuing a vehicle driven by Parra Hernandez. Parra Hernandez and another person eventually left the vehicle and ran away on foot. Surveillance footage released by prosecutors shows the SUV crossing a median and heading into a parking area after one of the fleeing men.
Teare said Morales then deliberately directed the vehicle toward Parra Hernandez, running over both of his legs. Some of the most significant evidence comes from Morales’ body-worn camera and his subsequent 911 call. After the collision, Parra Hernandez can be heard in pain and is shown lying on the pavement.
Morales is recorded saying, “I was coming in, and I hit him with the car.” That evidence contrasts with the account Morales gave emergency dispatchers. In the 911 recording, he said he tried to maneuver around Parra Hernandez and that the man instead made contact with his vehicle. ICE similarly said that immediately after the incident, Parra Hernandez had run in front of the vehicle.
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