Man ICE sought in Houston SUV crash died years ago, family says
The man ICE said it was chasing when an agent hit a Houston worker with an SUV appears to have died years ago, his family says, according to NBC News and AP. ICE said the worker, Miguel Parra Hernández, ran in front of its vehicle. The local district attorney is weighing charges against the agent, AP reported.
The man US Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it was trying to arrest when one of its agents hit a Houston worker with an SUV on October 10 appears to have died years ago, his family and an immigrant rights group say, NBC News and The Associated Press reported.
ICE said its agents were "conducting a targeted enforcement operation" to arrest Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, NBC reported. ICE said officers saw him get into a vehicle with Miguel Parra Hernández, 48, according to AP. After an attempted vehicle stop, the two people in the car fled, and "Miguel Parra Hernandez ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck," an ICE spokesperson said, according to NBC. ICE has called claims that its agent hit Parra on purpose "RECKLESS and FALSE," NBC reported. ICE did not respond to questions about the family's account on Friday, AP and NBC reported. AP spells his name Parra Hernandez.
Cesar Espinosa of FIEL Houston said Friday that the daughter of the man in the photo ICE released had identified him as her father, José Hector Jimenez Mendoza, who died almost a decade ago while trying to enter the United States, according to NBC. AP, which gives his name as Jose Hector Jimenez, reported, citing FIEL, that Jimenez Mendoza died while being pursued by federal immigration authorities as he tried to reenter the country. "ICE is lying," Espinosa said, according to AP.
Parra's attorney, Kim Bruno, provided a copy of a Mexican death certificate that the family gave her and FIEL, NBC reported. It lists the name J. Hector Jimenez Mendoza, a death year of 2017 and Laredo, Texas, as the place of death. The husband of Jimenez Mendoza's daughter confirmed that Jimenez Mendoza was her late father, AP reported. Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesperson for the Harris County district attorney, said Mendoza-Cervantes was not in the vehicle, according to AP.
District Attorney Sean Teare is investigating ICE over a possible aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge and said he could take the case to a grand jury as soon as next week, NBC reported. Teare has said surveillance footage contradicts ICE's claim that Parra stepped in front of the vehicle, AP reported. The video shows a black SUV speeding over a median toward a running man, though another vehicle blocks the impact from view, AP reported. A senior Homeland Security official said the driver has been placed on administrative leave, according to NBC.
Parra remains hospitalized with multiple leg fractures and needs reconstructive ankle surgery, FIEL said, according to AP.
What we know: ICE says Parra ran in front of its vehicle, while FIEL, Parra's attorney and the dead man's family say the man ICE was seeking appears to have died years ago.
What we don't: Whether Teare will bring the case to a grand jury, and whether ICE will release its body camera video.
Where outlets agree NBC News and AP report that the man ICE said it was pursuing when an agent hit Miguel Parra Hernández appears to have died years ago, according to his family and FIEL, and that ICE says Parra ran in front of its vehicle.
Where they differ The outlets cited here report the same key facts so far.