Texas grand jury indicts ICE agent in Houston vehicular assault

A grand jury in Texas today indicted an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent who struck and injured a Mexican construction worker with a vehicle in Houston this month, authorities said.

The agent, Mario Alberto Morales, 33, is facing state charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, said Sean Teare, the district attorney in Harris County, which includes Houston. He added that Morales has not turned himself in. It was unclear whether the defendant had legal representation.

The worker, Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, an immigrant in the country illegally, was driving to his job on the morning of Oct. 10 when federal immigration authorities tried to pull him over in unmarked vehicles, according to Houston immigration advocates.

When Parra Hernandez stopped the car, he and a passenger tried to flee. ICE has said that Parra Hernandez had run in front of one of the agency’s vehicles and was struck. But surveillance video from a nearby business appeared to show Parra Hernandez and another man running away as an ICE vehicle veered around the corner and appeared to hit Parra Hernandez from behind.

Parra Hernandez remains in ICE custody, at a rehabilitation center recovering from his injuries, the authorities said at a news conference today announcing the charges.

ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Criminal cases against federal agents have proved challenging. Prosecutors in other districts have acknowledged that they face formidable practical and legal challenges in holding federal agents accountable for on-duty conduct.

The Supremacy Clause of the Constitution gives federal officials broad immunity from state prosecution, but Texas officials said they believe that what took place is clearly misconduct, shown by video evidence and 911 calls.

“The evidence that we have in this case is as clear as any that I’ve ever prosecuted or investigated,” Teare said. “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.”

Teare has said his investigators believe that the vehicle that struck Parra Hernandez was carrying people detained earlier, and that the driver should not have been pursuing the construction worker. Federal agents took the ICE vehicle away, contrary to standard investigation protocol and over the objections of local investigators, Teare said.

Although he has not reviewed Morales’ training record, Teare said Morales was one of the agents hired for a surge in President Donald Trump’s deportation campaign in August 2025.

During the media briefing, Teare played two videos, one of which showed Parra Hernandez lying on the ground and yelling that the agent had hurt his leg. The agent then is heard in a 911 call telling an operator that Parra Hernandez had run into his vehicle.

ICE has faced scrutiny from state and local officials over traffic stops. The tactic has been a key part to the Trump administration’s escalation of immigration arrests this summer, but many of them have turned violent or deadly.

This article originally appeared in The New York Times.

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