The family of a 48-year-old man struck by a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) vehicle during an enforcement operation in northwest Harris County is demanding his release from federal custody and calling for an investigation into the collision.
Miguel Parra-Hernandez was struck Saturday morning, Oct. 10, on Clay Road near Highway 6. His family says he was on his way to work when the incident unfolded.
Surveillance video obtained by KPRC 2 shows two men getting out of a white pickup truck stopped facing the wrong direction on Clay Road. Moments later, an unmarked black Jeep crosses a median and strikes Parra-Hernandez.
ICE maintains Parra-Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle while attempting to flee from immigration officers. His family and immigrant advocates are questioning the agency’s account and demanding transparency.
On Sunday, Parra-Hernandez’s relatives joined immigrant advocacy organizations at the intersection where he was struck, calling for accountability and his release from ICE custody.
Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL Houston, criticized the actions of the federal agents involved.
“ICE brutally and viciously ran over Mr. Miguel,” Espinosa said. “We cannot have officers who have no worry for human life.”
Espinosa said the collision could have had an even more devastating outcome.
“What happened yesterday to Miguel could have ended up in a bigger tragedy, because don’t make a mistake about it, it’s already a tragedy,” he said.
Parra-Hernandez’s brother, Rodolfo Parra, became emotional while defending his brother against allegations that he was a criminal.
“He is a good person, he is not a criminal, as they say in the news,” Parra said.
Speaking in Spanish, he also criticized what he described as false information being circulated about his brother.
“It’s a complete lie what they’re saying about him. They didn’t even know his name correctly, and they were already accusing him of being a criminal,” Parra said.
His niece, Natxielly Castañeda, said her uncle had left home around 7 a.m. Saturday to go to work.
“He was not criminal, what he did yesterday. He was going to work,” Castañeda said. “That was his only crime, to get out in the morning and go to work.”
Castañeda also suggested that her uncle’s actions were driven by fear.
“It’s a survival instinct as human beings,” she said. “Our first instinct when we feel terrorized is to go out and run.”
She called for more humane treatment during immigration enforcement operations.
“This is not just about immigration. This is about human lives,” Castañeda said.
In a statement to KPRC 2, ICE said agents were conducting a targeted enforcement operation around 8:30 a.m. Saturday to arrest Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, a Mexican national whom the agency described as a public safety threat.
According to Harris County Sheriff’s Office authorities, the incident occurred around 7:20 a.m.
According to ICE, Mendoza-Cervantes has four prior arrests for driving under the influence and an arrest for unlawful possession of a firearm. The agency also said he has a final order of removal, was previously deported twice and has illegally entered the United States five times.
ICE said agents conducting surveillance observed Mendoza-Cervantes and Parra-Hernandez enter a vehicle before attempting a traffic stop.
“As ICE officers attempted to apprehend the illegal aliens, Miguel Parra-Hernandez ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck,” said an ICE spokesperson.
The agency identified Parra-Hernandez as an undocumented immigrant from Mexico.
ICE said agents immediately contacted emergency medical services and provided aid after the collision.
According to the agency, Parra-Hernandez suffered non-life-threatening injuries and was transported to a nearby hospital in stable condition.
However, FIEL Houston previously told KPRC 2 that Parra-Hernandez suffered a leg broken in three places and was expected to undergo surgery.
Advocates at Sunday’s news conference said Parra-Hernandez was subsequently taken into ICE custody and called for his immediate release.
KPRC 2 has not independently confirmed his current medical condition or detention location.
ICE said Mendoza-Cervantes, the original target of the operation, remains at large.
Surveillance video obtained by KPRC 2 captured the moments surrounding the collision.
The footage shows a white pickup truck stopped facing the wrong direction on Clay Road. Two men exit the vehicle, and one disappears from the camera’s view.
An unmarked black Jeep is then seen crossing the median and striking the other man, identified by ICE as Parra-Hernandez.
The footage provides a view of the collision but does not establish everything that happened before the two men exited the pickup truck.
KPRC 2 asked ICE whether the agents involved were wearing body cameras and whether the vehicle had activated its emergency lights and sirens.
The agency did not answer those questions.
Harris County Precinct 4 Commissioner Lesley Briones condemned the incident and called for ICE to cooperate with local authorities.
“I am horrified to learn that an ICE vehicle struck a man on Clay Road this morning in Precinct 4,” Briones said in a statement Saturday.
“ICE must cooperate fully with the Harris County Sheriff’s Office and release all video evidence of this incident. We demand full transparency, accountability, and respect for the rule of law.”
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia also called for evidence to be preserved and questioned the federal agency’s account.
“We need to know exactly what happened, and ICE’s word alone is not enough,” Garcia said.
“Preserve the evidence. Cooperate fully with investigators. Give the public the answers it deserves.”
During Sunday’s news conference, FIEL Houston and other immigrant advocacy organizations called for Parra-Hernandez’s release and a thorough investigation into the actions of the ICE agents involved.
Espinosa said the community deserves to know the identities of the agents and whether criminal charges will be considered.
“We have more questions than answers,” Espinosa said in an earlier statement. “We demand answers and transparency from all agencies involved.”
Advocates also called for an end to ICE enforcement operations in Houston, arguing that the incident reflects broader concerns about the treatment of immigrant communities.
For Parra-Hernandez’s family, the immediate priority remains his recovery and release from federal custody.
