ICE pursuit in Houston that broke a man’s leg targeted a suspect who died years ago, family says

Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle/Getty Images

A federal officer slammed a vehicle into a Houston construction worker and broke his leg while pursuing a man who apparently died years ago, his family said Friday, further calling into question the account given by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement .

The worker, 48-year-old Miguel Parra Hernandez of Mexico, remains hospitalized with multiple leg fractures and needs reconstructive ankle surgery, according to FIEL, a Houston-based immigration advocacy group. At a news conference Friday, the group said the alleged suspect’s family had shared documentation proving his death.

After the episode last Saturday, ICE said in a statement that officers had observed a suspect they were targeting, identified as Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, enter a vehicle with Parra Hernandez.

But on Friday, Harris County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre told The Associated Press that Mendoza-Cervantes was not in that vehicle.

ICE did not respond to requests for comment Friday.

“ICE is lying,” Cesar Espinosa, FIEL’s executive director, said. “Either somebody is not telling the truth or all of a sudden these two ICE agents have developed a sixth sense and are able to see dead people.”

ICE released a photo of a man it identified as Mendoza-Cervantes. But he is actually Jose Hector Jimenez, who died years ago while being pursued by federal immigration authorities as he was trying to reenter the U.S., according to FIEL.

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The man’s daughter provided his death certificate from the Mexican government, which has been turned over to the district attorney, Espinosa told the AP. U.S. Customs and Border Protection did not respond to a request for comment.

Jimenez’s daughter, Jamie Jimenez, did not respond to requests for comment from the AP. Her husband, Andres Rendon, confirmed to the AP that Jimenez was his wife’s deceased father.

Criminal charges against the ICE officer who drove the vehicle are being considered by the Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare, who has said 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 man who is running away. The video does not show the car hitting him — that view is blocked by another vehicle — but it shows the SUV inches from the fleeing man. The video then shows him on the ground.

CCTV video shows moment man is struck by ICE vehicle

U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, a Democrat who represents Houston, said that ICE appears to be lying about what happened.

“If ICE was pursuing a man who died years ago, it 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,” Garcia said in a statement to the AP. “It’s outrageous, but frankly, not surprising.”

Parra Hernandez’s attorney, Kim Bruno, told reporters that her client is suffering from depression in federal custody, especially after learning that he was not the target of the operation.

“This never should have happened in the first place,” Bruno said.

His brother, Roberto Parra, said they would work construction all day together and he just wants his brother treated with humanity. He said Parra Hernandez has a family to support, and his only crime was coming to a country out of necessity.

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FIEL is seeking Parra Hernandez’s release before he is moved from a hospital to a federal detention center.

Nidia Delfín, the sister of Luis Enrique Delfín, who was detained in the ICE vehicle that hit Parra Hernandez, called for her brother’s release from federal custody so he could serve as a witness.

“He’s still very concerned, still very afraid,” she said. “He’s not the same guy that was out last week.”

Raquel Natalicchio/休斯顿纪事报/Getty Images

周五，一名联邦官员驾车撞向休斯顿一名建筑工人，导致其腿部骨折。据该男子的家人称，这名男子显然已于多年前去世。此事进一步质疑了美国移民和海关执法局的说法。

据总部位于休斯顿的移民权益倡导组织FIEL称，这名48岁的墨西哥籍工人米格尔·帕拉·埃尔南德斯（Miguel Parra Hernandez）目前仍在住院治疗，腿部多处骨折，需要进行踝关节重建手术。该组织在周五的新闻发布会上表示，嫌疑人的家人已提供文件证明他已死亡。

上周六事件发生后，美国移民及海关执法局 (ICE) 在一份声明中表示，执法人员观察到他们正在追查的嫌疑人 Jose Mendoza-Cervantes 与 Parra Hernandez 一起进入了一辆车。

但周五，哈里斯县地方检察官办公室发言人拉斐尔·勒梅特雷告诉美联社，门多萨-塞万提斯不在那辆车里。

周五，美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）未回应置评请求。

“移民执法局（ICE）在撒谎，”FIEL执行主任塞萨尔·埃斯皮诺萨说。“要么有人在说谎，要么这两个ICE探员突然有了第六感，能看到死人。”

美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）公布了一张照片，照片中的男子被认定为门多萨-塞万提斯。但据联邦移民执法局（FIEL）称，此人实际上是何塞·赫克托·希门尼斯，他多年前在试图重新入境美国时被联邦移民当局追捕致死。

一名男子被一辆ICE车辆撞倒，双腿骨折。以下是我们目前了解到的情况。

埃斯皮诺萨告诉美联社，该男子的女儿提供了墨西哥政府出具的死亡证明，目前已移交给地方检察官。美国海关和边境保护局未回应置评请求。

希门尼斯的女儿杰米·希门尼斯没有回应美联社的置评请求。她的丈夫安德烈斯·伦顿向美联社证实，希门尼斯是他妻子的已故父亲。

哈里斯县地方检察官肖恩·蒂尔正在考虑对驾驶该车辆的移民执法局官员提起刑事诉讼。蒂尔表示，监控录像与移民执法局的说法相矛盾，即帕拉·埃尔南德斯走到了车前。

视频显示，一辆黑色SUV高速越过中央隔离带，冲向一名正在逃跑的男子。视频没有拍到车辆撞击男子的画面——该画面被另一辆车遮挡——但显示SUV距离逃跑男子仅几英寸之遥。随后，视频显示该男子倒在地上。

监控录像显示男子被冰毒车撞击的瞬间

代表休斯顿的民主党众议员西尔维娅·加西亚表示，美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）似乎在对所发生的事情撒谎。

“如果移民执法局追捕的是一名多年前就已去世的人，这就引发了人们对这些行动如何开展的严重质疑，以及执法人员在将人们的生命置于危险之中之前，是否核实了他们要找的人的身份，”加西亚在给美联社的一份声明中说。“这令人愤慨，但坦白说，并不令人意外。”

帕拉·埃尔南德斯的律师金·布鲁诺告诉记者，她的当事人在联邦拘留期间患有抑郁症，尤其是在得知他不是行动目标之后。

“这件事本来就不应该发生，”布鲁诺说。

他的兄弟罗伯托·帕拉说，他们兄弟俩整天一起在工地干活，他只希望弟弟能得到人道的对待。他说，帕拉·埃尔南德斯要养家糊口，他唯一的“罪过”就是迫于生计来到这个国家。

独家报道：尽管共和党人对此感到不安，但随着中期选举临近，美国移民及海关执法局（ICE）特工仍被指示加大每日移民逮捕力度。

FIEL 正在寻求在 Parra Hernandez 从医院转移到联邦拘留中心之前将其释放。

路易斯·恩里克·德尔芬的妹妹尼迪亚·德尔芬呼吁释放她的哥哥，以便他能作为证人出庭作证。路易斯·恩里克·德尔芬被关押在撞到帕拉·埃尔南德斯的移民执法局车辆中。

“他仍然非常担忧，仍然非常害怕，”她说。“他已经不是上周那个在外奔波的人了。”