ICE Agent Runs Down Fleeing Man With SUV in Houston Pursuit; Video Captured the Strike

ICE Agent Runs Down Fleeing Man With SUV in Houston Pursuit

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement is facing fresh scrutiny. Around 7:20 a.m. on Saturday, October 10, an ICE agent struck a fleeing man with his vehicle during a pursuit on Clay Road near Highway 6 in northwest Harris County, Texas. The Harris County Sheriff's Office is investigating the incident; the agent himself called 911 afterward, authorities said.

Victim, 48, Suffered Leg Broken in Three Places

Miguel Parra-Hernandez, 48, was taken to a nearby hospital with a broken leg — broken in three places, according to Cesar Espinosa, leader of the Houston immigrant-rights group FIEL. His injuries are non-life-threatening, and he remains in ICE custody at the hospital. ICE identified him as a Mexican national in the country illegally. The agent's actual target was another man, Jose Mendoza-Cervantes: ICE says he is a Mexican national who entered the U.S. illegally five times, has a judge-issued final order of removal, and was previously arrested four times for driving under the influence and once for unlawful possession of a firearm. The two were riding in a white pickup truck; the driver at one point drove west in the eastbound lanes before both men bailed out and fled on foot. Mendoza-Cervantes remains at large.

Surveillance Video Captured the Strike

Surveillance video obtained by ABC13, Houston's ABC affiliate, shows the pickup stopping along Clay Road as the two men get out and run in different directions, Parra-Hernandez cutting through a shopping center parking lot. Moments later a dark, unmarked SUV turns into the lot and runs him down. He stays on the ground for several minutes. An anonymous witness told ABC13 he heard the man crying out: "Ah! Ah! Ah! You broke my leg!" ICE's statement offered a different account, alleging Parra-Hernandez "ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck." The footage also shows an agent moving the abandoned pickup into the shopping center before leaving in another unmarked vehicle. "I believe ICE agents moved it before we got there," said HCSO Major Anthony McConnell.

County Officials Demand Video, Full Cooperation

Harris County Commissioner Lesley Briones said she was "horrified" to learn of the incident and demanded that ICE cooperate fully with the sheriff's investigation and release all video evidence: "We demand full transparency, accountability, and respect for the rule of law." County Attorney Abbie Kamin joined the pressure. The sheriff's office vehicular crimes unit is investigating the collision and reviewing surveillance video from nearby buildings. As of Sunday afternoon, no arrests had been made.

Two Days After ICE Shot a Man in New York

The Texas incident came just two days after another controversial ICE enforcement action: on Thursday, October 8, ICE agents in New York City shot 28-year-old Oscar Belgal inside his car while his five-year-old son sat in the back seat, an incident New York Mayor Zohran Mamdani publicly condemned. The Guardian reported in late September that more than 30 people had died in 2026 during interactions with immigration officials. And on Friday morning, October 9, a 72-year-old man in Fresno, California, shot an off-duty ICE official described as intoxicated and agitated.

Use of Force Under the Microscope Again

The back-to-back incidents have put ICE's tactics back in the spotlight. Critics argue that agents' use of vehicles and firearms during pursuits lacks transparent constraints; DHS counters that these were "targeted enforcement operations" against individuals with removal orders and criminal records. The Harris County investigation's findings — and whether the surveillance video Briones demanded ever goes public — will shape what comes next.