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HOUSTON — Miguel Parra Hernandez, the 48-year-old Houston man who was run over by an unmarked ICE vehicle over the weekend, will need at least one more operation to reconstruct his leg and other parts of his body, his advocates said Monday, March 24, 2025.
Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL, a Houston-based immigration advocacy group, said Parra suffered serious leg and hip injuries and a shattered ankle when an officer’s vehicle struck him Saturday during an enforcement operation. Parra has had an initial surgery, but doctors have told him not to put weight on the leg for six weeks. Espinosa said additional reconstructive procedures are planned once the swelling goes down.
Parra had gotten out of his vehicle and was on foot when he was hit. Espinosa described the collision as “violent and brutal.”
Video obtained by KPRC-TV shows a white pickup truck driving against traffic on a busy roadway, then crossing a raised yellow median and moving in the direction Parra was running. The unmarked vehicle appears to swerve left into Parra’s path near a shopping center. Moments later, a man is visible on the pavement behind the vehicle.
Parra remained in ICE custody Monday at a Houston hospital. Parra’s attorney, Kim Bruno, said she and Espinosa were allowed only 10 to 15 minutes during a hospital visit before ICE officers entered the room, began recording the conversation, and forced them out. Espinosa called the situation “disheartening and angering,” saying Parra must confront each day the same agents he accuses of injuring him.
Bruno told NBC News that Parra has lived in the United States for 34 years, having arrived at age 14. He has no criminal record and has never had an encounter with immigration authorities, she said. Parra and the man with him in the car do stucco work. The other man had picked Parra up for work, and neither was the target of the ICE stop, according to Bruno and Espinosa.
ICE has identified the intended target as Jose Mendoza Cervantes, who, the agency says, is in the country illegally, has been removed twice, has entered the U.S. illegally five times, and has prior arrests for drunken driving and unlawful firearm possession. Cervantes also had an active removal order, ICE said. Bruno and Espinosa said neither Parra nor his co-worker knew Cervantes.
The Harris County Sheriff’s Office is leading the investigation into the incident, which it classified as an “auto-ped” case. The Harris County District Attorney’s Office has also sent investigators from its Civil Rights Division to the intersection where Parra was struck, according to spokesman Damali Keith.
The Department of Homeland Security has said Parra is in the country without legal authorization. ICE and DHS did not respond to further requests for comment Monday.
The case comes less than two weeks after the Trump administration issued new guidance restricting vehicle stops by immigration officers. The directive says only agents who have completed specific training should conduct vehicle stops, that vehicles used for stops must have lights and sirens, and that officers must wear and activate body cameras during stops. It remains unclear whether those requirements were met during Saturday’s incident.
No officer involved in the collision has been publicly identified, and no charges have been announced. Investigators are expected to review surveillance video, witness statements, and any available body-camera or vehicle data to determine exactly what happened on the roadway.
Civil rights and immigrant advocacy groups say the case highlights the dangers of unmarked federal vehicles performing police-style enforcement in busy public areas. FIEL and Parra’s legal team are calling for a transparent, independent investigation and for Parra to be released from ICE custody while he continues to recover.
Parra now faces a long period of rehabilitation, at least one more operation, and the uncertainty of being in federal custody while trying to heal from injuries his advocates say were inflicted by the same agency holding him.
