A federal officer slammed a vehicle into a Houston construction worker and broke his leg, believing him to be a man who apparently died years ago, the dead man’s family said on Friday, further calling into question the account given by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The worker, 48-year-old Miguel Parra Hernandez of Mexico, remains hospitalized with multiple leg fractures and needs reconstructive ankle surgery, according to FIEL, a Houston-based immigration advocacy group. At a news conference on Friday, the group said the alleged suspect’s family had shared documentation proving his death.
After the episode on 10 October, ICE said in a statement that officers had observed a suspect they were targeting, identified as Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, enter a vehicle with Parra Hernandez. But on Friday, Rafael Lemaitre, spokesperson with the Harris county district attorney’s office, told the that Mendoza-Cervantes was not in that vehicle. ICE did not respond to requests for comment on Friday.
But the man in the photo is actually Jose Hector Jimenez, who died years ago while being pursued by federal immigration authorities as he was trying to re-enter the US, according to FIEL. The man’s daughter provided his death certificate from the Mexican government, which has been turned over to the district attorney, Espinosa told the AP. US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) did not respond to a request for comment.
Jimenez’s daughter, Jamie Jimenez, did not respond to requests for comment from the AP. Her husband, Andres Rendon, confirmed to the AP that Jimenez was his wife’s deceased father. Criminal charges against the ICE officer who drove the vehicle are being considered by Harris county district attorney Sean Teare, who has said surveillance footage contradicts ICE’s claim that Parra Hernandez stepped in front of the vehicle.
The video shows a black SUV speeding over a median and driving toward a man who is running away. The video does not show the car hitting him – that view is blocked by another vehicle – but it shows the SUV inches from the fleeing man. The video then shows him on the ground.
US House member Sylvia Garcia, a Democrat who represents Houston, said that ICE appears to be lying about what happened. Just in 2026, the second year since Trump returned to the White House, more than 30 people have died during interactions with immigration officials, the Guardian reported in late September. Parra Hernandez’s attorney, Kim Bruno, told reporters that her client was suffering from depression in federal custody, especially after learning that he was not the target of the operation.
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