An Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer has been criminally indicted after he struck a man with his car while pursuing him in Houston earlier this month, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said Friday.

A grand jury in Harris County, Texas, indicted Mario Alberto Morales on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon using his vehicle — a second-degree felony punishable by two to 20 years in prison — for striking Miguel Parra Hernández on Oct. 10.

It is the first such indictment of an ICE officer in Texas. Morales’ attorney did not immediately respond to MS NOW’s request for comment.

Parra Hernández is an undocumented immigrant from Mexico who has no criminal record, deportation order or pending immigration proceeding against him, Teare said at a news conference.

ICE officers were investigating Jose Mendoza-Cervantes when Morales struck Parra Hernández, Teare said. Mendoza-Cervantes’ daughter told The New York Times that he died nine years ago after falling from a cliff while fleeing immigration agents near the southern border. She said her father used aliases, including the name that ICE identified as its target during the operation that ended with Parra Hernández being struck. Teare’s office said it has not found evidence that Parra Hernandez and Mendoza-Cervantes were in a vehicle together, reported The Associated Press.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez said Parra Hernández sustained “significant injuries, including multiple fractures to his right leg.”

Parra Hernández’ attorney, Kim Bruno, said at a news conference later Friday that her client suffered fractures and nerve damage and, after surgery, continues to face mobility limitations, chronic pain, anxiety and depression.

Bruno said it’s unclear whether her client will be able to walk again.

Body camera footage released by Teare’s office shows Morales pursuing a white car with his vehicle. Surveillance video from a nearby bakery shows Parra Hernández and another person exiting the car and running away. Morales then appears to drive directly at Parra Hernández before hitting him.

In a recording of Morales’ call to 911, also released by Teare’s office, the officer suggested at one point that Parra Hernández was at fault.

“We’re following this guy, trying to pull him over,” Morales tells the dispatcher. “He jumped out of the vehicle. I tried to get around him, and he hit my car.”

Morales was placed on leave days after the incident. A Department of Homeland Security spokesperson said at the time that it was “standard practice” pending an internal investigation and that it was “not any indication of wrongdoing.”

After the Morales indictment, an ICE spokesperson called the charge “reckless and false” and a “political stunt.”

“This is nothing more than a political stunt by Houston sanctuary politicians. Federal officers acting in the course of their duties can only be investigated by other federal agencies,” the ICE spokesperson said. “Local governments do not have the authority to run such an investigation.”

Though rare, local officials do have the authority to investigate federal agents under certain circumstances. State and local authorities have warned that they have no qualms about investigating federal officers who break the law while carrying out immigration enforcement efforts.

Bruno said her client has not been informed of the ICE officer’s indictment, but said Parra Hernández wanted accountability when she spoke with him Thursday.

Asked about the fact that the ICE officer is Hispanic, Bruno recalled what her client told her about the incident.

“They wanted to kill me. There is a lot of racism even amongst the same Hispanics, and this is why I believe he wanted to kill me,” Bruno recalled Parra Hernández saying.

Parra Hernández’s brother, Rodolfo, said at the news conference Friday that he has not watched the graphic video of the incident. He called for justice and for his brother’s release from ICE custody.

Teare said Morales was hired during an ICE hiring surge in August 2025, and Harris County officials don’t yet know if Morales has training records.

“I can unequivocally tell you that I’ve reviewed thousands of job applications and resumes for law enforcement officers from around this state, and I’m not familiar with a single agency that would have hired this person based on his past,” Teare added, though he declined to provide details. He said he expects Morales to be in custody soon.

Parra Hernández is recovering from his injuries at a rehabilitation facility and remains in ICE custody, Teare said.

“An ICE badge does not give you free rein to injure, kill, or violate the constitutional rights of anyone,” Teare said. “My hope is that this prosecution will do more than just seek justice for the Parra Hernández family and Mr. Parra Hernández. I hope that it also sends a loud and clear message to every ICE officer who feels that they have a free pass to terrorize our streets.”

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