Miguel Parra Hernandez was heading to a construction job near Houston on October 10 when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer in an unmarked SUV began chasing his truck. The 48-year-old has called Harris County home for over three decades. He has no criminal record, and he was not under a deportation order.

When Parra Hernandez jumped out and ran, prosecutors say the officer, Mario Alberto Morales, turned sharply and drove the SUV into him. He suffered multiple leg fractures and nerve damage, needed surgery, and remained hospitalized weeks later. ICE claims he ran in front of the vehicle. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare says surveillance video synced with body camera footage shows otherwise.

The chase itself raises serious questions. Video shows the SUV had no flashing lights and drove over a median. Local authorities say two prisoners from unrelated arrests were riding in the back without seat belts. The man ICE said it was after appears to have died nine years ago. Morales was hired during the agency’s 2025 hiring surge, and the DA’s office says it has received no training records for him.

A Harris County grand jury has now charged Morales with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. An ICE spokesperson called the allegations “RECKLESS and FALSE,” according to The Associated Press, and argued local officials have no authority to investigate federal officers.

One case is not enough. DA Teare should be free to take this case to trial without federal interference. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) should release Morales’s training and hiring records. And Congress should require every ICE officer to complete full training and background vetting before going on patrol, and ban pursuits in unmarked cars without lights and sirens.

“All he wants is accountability,” said Kim Bruno, Parra Hernandez’s attorney.

Sign the petition to see this case through and keep untrained officers from turning ICE vehicles into weapons.