- ICE officers struck a construction worker with a vehicle on Oct. 10 while pursuing a suspect who died in 2017, according to a death certificate provided by the man's family.
- Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, suffered multiple leg fractures and requires reconstructive ankle surgery after the incident in Houston.
- Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare opened an investigation into alleged use of force, citing surveillance footage that contradicts ICE's account.
- The Mexican government-issued death certificate for Jose Hector Jimenez has been turned over to prosecutors.
- More than 30 people have died during interactions with immigration officials in 2026 alone during the Trump administration's aggressive enforcement campaign.
Operation gone wrong: The incident and its aftermath
A federal immigration officer slammed a vehicle into a Houston construction worker and broke his leg on Oct. 10 while pursuing a man who apparently died seven years earlier, according to documentation provided by the deceased man's family, raising serious questions about the accuracy and accountability of Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in Southeast Texas.
Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, a Mexican national without legal status, was driving to work when ICE agents attempted to pull him over. Surveillance footage shows Parra Hernandez and a passenger fleeing on foot as an ICE SUV veered and struck him, causing multiple leg fractures that will require reconstructive ankle surgery.
The "target": A man deceased since 2017
ICE initially stated that officers observed a suspect identified as Jose Mendoza-Cervantes entering a vehicle with Parra Hernandez. However, Harris County District Attorney's Office spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre confirmed that Mendoza-Cervantes was not in that vehicle.
FIEL Houston, an immigration advocacy group, revealed at a Friday press conference that the man ICE was actually pursuing was Jose Hector Jimenez, who died in 2017 while being chased by federal immigration authorities attempting to reenter the United States. Jimenez's daughter provided his Mexican government-issued death certificate, which has been submitted to the district attorney's office.
The family released a photo that ICE had circulated identifying the suspect as Mendoza-Cervantes. The man pictured was Jimenez.
Video evidence contradicts official account
District Attorney Sean Teare announced an investigation into the alleged use of force, stating that 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 fleeing man. While the actual impact is obscured by another vehicle, the SUV appears inches from the running man before he is seen on the ground.
Teare said ICE tactics "are growing more brazen and more dangerous," noting that high-speed pursuits and aggressive operations on busy streets put everyone at risk.
Broader context of federal enforcement
This incident occurs during President Trump's second term, marked by unprecedented immigration enforcement. In 2026 alone, more than 30 people have died during interactions with immigration officials, according to a Guardian report.
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, said the case raises "serious questions about how these operations are being carried out and whether agents are even verifying who they're looking for before putting people's lives at risk."
Parra Hernandez remains hospitalized in federal custody. His attorney, Kim Bruno, said her client suffers from depression after learning he was never the operation's target. FIEL is seeking his release from the hospital before transfer to a detention center.
Accountability questions mount
The case of Miguel Parra Hernandez represents a disturbing pattern of federal overreach where operational sloppiness leads to injury of innocent individuals. With a dead suspect serving as the justification for a violent pursuit, this incident demands full transparency from ICE and appropriate consequences for any officer who violated protocol or law. As the district attorney's investigation proceeds, the American public deserves answers about how federal agents can pursue a man who died years ago—and why a construction worker now faces a shattered leg and potential deportation for the crime of being present while agents chased a ghost.
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