ICE Agent Indicted for Allegedly Ramming Houston Resident During October Traffic Stop

Mario Alberto Morales, a 33-year-old Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent, was indicted Friday on a second-degree felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. The indictment stems from an October 10 incident in Houston in which Morales allegedly drove his unmarked Jeep Cherokee into Miguel Parra-Hernandez, a 48-year-old Mexican national and construction worker with no criminal record or active deportation order, causing multiple leg fractures and a hip injury. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced the indictment alongside Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzalez on October 30, stating the incident resulted from a botched traffic stop targeting another individual.

According to prosecutors, Morales was attempting to stop a pickup truck containing two men who fled on foot. Surveillance video presented at a news conference showed Parra-Hernandez running across a restaurant parking lot when Morales' SUV swerved into him and ran him over. Audio from a 911 call Morales made shows him telling the dispatcher that Parra-Hernandez ran in front of his vehicle—an account ICE has maintained. However, prosecutors and immigrant rights advocates have disputed this narrative, arguing the video evidence shows Morales deliberately veering toward Parra-Hernandez as he fled. If convicted, Morales faces between two and 20 years in prison.

Parra-Hernandez has been in ICE custody since the incident and remains hospitalized. His attorney, Kim Bruno, expressed concern about his injuries and said he fears for his life while in custody. Immigrant rights organizations, including FIEL, have called for his immediate release. The case has drawn broader criticism of ICE's conduct during immigration enforcement operations, particularly under the Trump administration's immigration crackdown. Harris County Sheriff Gonzalez noted that Morales' vehicle also contained two handcuffed detainees from an unrelated operation at the time of the collision, which he characterized as unsafe and unacceptable.

ICE has dismissed the indictment, calling it "a political stunt by Houston sanctuary politicians" and "nothing more than a political stunt." An ICE spokesperson stated that federal officers acting in the course of their duties can only be investigated by other federal agencies and that local governments lack authority to conduct such investigations. However, District Attorney Teare disputed this claim, calling the ICE assertion "patently false." U.S. Attorney Aaron Reitz, whose office would oversee any federal prosecution, said he saw "no basis for federal charges at this time" but stopped short of challenging state jurisdiction.

The indictment comes amid heightened tensions over ICE enforcement practices in Houston. Teare's office is also investigating a July shooting by ICE that killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, an immigrant who was not the intended target. Teare cited documented drops in reports of domestic violence, robbery, and sexual assault among immigrant communities, attributing the decline to fear of deportation. He stated that ICE's conduct and the fear it instills in Harris County residents is "objectively making us all less safe." The case also follows the January indictment of ICE officer Christian Castro in Minnesota for allegedly shooting and wounding a Venezuelan man.