ICE Agent Who Struck Migrant With Vehicle Indicted By Texas Grand Jury

Another Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent is facing a legal battle in Texas over allegations of violence against a civilian, and many would agree it’s about time federal agents were held accountable for the chaos they’ve created in communities across the country, as a result of the Trump administration’s mass deportation agenda.

According to the New York Times, a Harris County grand jury has indicted 33-year-old Mario Alberto Morales, the ICE agent accused of striking 48-year-old construction worker Miguel Parra-Hernandez with his vehicle. Earlier this month, we reported that Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said surveillance footage of the incident shows Parra-Hernandez and another person jumping out of a white truck and running as a dark SUV pursues them, ultimately striking him. On Friday, Teare announced Morales had been charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The government alleges that Parra-Hernandez is undocumented, and according to the Times, he remains in ICE custody at a rehabilitation center, where he’s recovering from severe leg injuries caused by the collision.

Meanwhile, ICE is sticking to its story that its agent did not intentionally strike the victim, and, in true Trump administration fashion, it’s claiming the prosecution of Morales is politically motivated.

“This is nothing more than a political stunt by Houston sanctuary politicians,” ICE said in a statement to KHOU 11. “Federal officers acting in the course of their duties can only be investigated by other Federal agencies. Local governments do not have the authority to run such an investigation.

“Allegations that ICE struck Miguel Parra-Hernandez intentionally are RECKLESS and FALSE. The men and women of ICE are entrusted with upholding the rule of law and are held to the highest standards of professionalism, integrity, and ethical conduct. As our brave law enforcement officers arrest and remove dangerous criminal illegal aliens from our communities, America can be proud of the professionalism our officers bring the job day-in and day-out,” the statement continued.

The Trump administration has been falsely claiming ICE agents have blanket immunity from state prosecution while in the line of duty since at least early this year. Vice President JD Vance and White House Chief of Staff Stephen Miller both repeated the claim in January, and, as we reported at the time, they were wrong, according to virtually every legal expert who spoke on the matter, because being an agent of the federal government doesn’t give one free rein to trample all over state laws.

KHOU 11 reports that Morales, also known as “Bam,” “is a former corrections officer, pastor, contracted law enforcement officer and military veteran who filed to run for the 34th Congressional District last year, according to his attorney and a campaign questionnaire. Morales announced his candidacy as a Republican in March but dropped out in August 2025, before the March 2026 primary.”

More from KHOU 11:

Morales was hired by ICE in August 2025 as a surge hire, Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said at a news conference. He did not have his training record, but said Morales should not have been hired as law enforcement given his background.

“Without going into detail of his prior work history and the rest of it, I can unequivocally tell you, I reviewed thousands of job applications and resumes from law enforcement officers from around this state. I’m not familiar with a single law agency that would have hired this person, based on his past,” Teare said.

Teare declined to provide specifics about what constituted that troubled past.

Morales isn’t even the first federal agent to face charges in Texas. In September, federal prosecutors charged ICE officer Christian Castro with assault and several counts of making false statements in his account of the Jan. 14 shooting of 24-year-old Venezuelan immigrant Julio Cesar Sosa-Celis, who was shot in the leg by Castro in Minneapolis, and charged with crimes related to allegations that he and another man had attacked Castro, which turned out to be a big, fat lie, resulting in the charges being dropped.

So, yeah — more of this, please. It’s about time ICE agents started getting charged for the violence they’ve committed with impunity so far, and hopefully, we’ll start seeing convictions as well.

SEE ALSO:

ICE Hits Houston Man With Vehicle, Breaking Both His Legs

Harris County DA Says ICE Intentionally Struck Migrant With Vehicle