HOUSTON, Texas.- A Harris County grand jury has indicted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer Mario Alberto Morales on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after he struck Miguel Parra-Hernandez, a 48-year-old Mexican construction worker, with his vehicle during an immigration operation in Houston on October 10, 2026.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced the indictment on Friday, October 30, 2026. Morales, 33, faces between 2 and 20 years in prison if convicted. He was not in custody when the indictment was announced, and prosecutors said a warrant would be issued for his arrest. As an indicted defendant, Morales is presumed innocent.
What prosecutors say happened
According to prosecutors, Morales was driving an unmarked 2025 Jeep Grand Cherokee at about 7:30 a.m. on October 10 when he initiated a stop on a vehicle driven by Parra-Hernandez near Clay Road and Highway 6 in northwest Harris County. Parra-Hernandez and another occupant fled on foot, and video footage showed Morales striking Parra-Hernandez with his vehicle, Teare said at a news conference on October 30.
Parra-Hernandez suffered a broken leg in three places, plus hip and ankle injuries, and required surgery. He was taken to a hospital in ICE custody. Prosecutors released body-camera footage and surveillance video on October 30, along with audio from Morales's 911 call.
Teare said Parra-Hernandez, who has lived in the United States for 30 years, had no criminal history, no deportation order and no immigration proceedings against him at the time of the crash. Prosecutors also said Morales drove the Jeep away before it could be impounded, erasing crash data stored in the vehicle, and that ICE has begun deporting witnesses in the case. Teare added that Morales was hired by ICE in August 2025 as part of its surge into Democrat-run cities.
ICE disputes the charge
ICE rejected the central allegation. A spokesperson called the claim that the officer intentionally struck Parra-Hernandez "RECKLESS and FALSE," and the agency described the indictment as a political stunt, arguing that local officials have no authority to investigate federal officers carrying out their duties.
ICE said its officers were not targeting Parra-Hernandez. According to the agency, the operation was aimed at a different man, Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, whom officers believed was connected to the vehicle from which Parra-Hernandez fled. ICE has maintained that Parra-Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle.
Prosecutors counter that surveillance footage contradicts that account: it shows the SUV crossing a median and pursuing Parra-Hernandez as he ran away, with the man on the ground moments later. A state judge had signed a search warrant for the Jeep's event data on October 15, but investigators had not been given access to the vehicle as of October 23, according to the warrant return.
A second case under investigation
The indictment comes as the Harris County District Attorney's Office continues investigating the fatal shooting of another Mexican national, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, on July 7, 2026. The Morales case has become the latest flashpoint in the clash between local prosecutors and federal immigration authorities over who polices federal officers and how far immigration enforcement can go.
Sources: USA TODAY, October 30, 2026; Al Jazeera, October 30, 2026; CBS News via The States Journal, October 30, 2026; Associated Press, NBC News, Texas Tribune and KPRC reporting, October 30, 2026.