ICE Agent to Surrender Monday After Houston SUV Crash

Federal immigration enforcement has expanded its reach in Texas, leading to a series of legal clashes between agents and residents in the Houston area.

Mario Alberto Morales, a 33-year-old Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer, will turn himself in to a court on Monday, according to his attorney, David Lindenmuth. A grand jury indicted Morales on Friday for aggravated assault with a deadly weapon, a felony charge arising from a collision on Oct. 10.

The incident involved Miguel Parra Hernández, a 48-year-old construction worker. Surveillance footage released previously shows Morales' unmarked SUV crossing a median and striking Parra as the man ran away. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare presented body camera images from the scene on Friday. The video shows Morales making sharp turns with the steering wheel, stopping the vehicle, and turning toward Parra, who was lying on the ground and shouting.

Morales told arriving officers, "I was coming in and I hit him with the car," according to the footage. A Harris County police incident report reviewed by the Associated Press states that Parra told officers he fled the traffic stop when Morales began putting on a mask and that the agent "threw the car at him." Morales admitted he did not brake before the impact but maintained he did not hit Parra intentionally.

Parra suffered a broken leg and is recovering in a rehabilitation center while remaining in federal custody, Teare said. The ICE stated that Parra ran in front of the vehicle and that the operation targeted a man named José Mendoza Cervantes, whom the agency claimed saw get into a car with Parra. Mendoza Cervantes' daughter told the immigrant rights group FIEL that her father has been dead for nearly a decade.

Lindenmuth told the Associated Press that the incident was "clearly just an accident" and that local authorities "invented a crime out of thin air." Teare said officials have a "significant amount of information" about Morales and suggested that, based on his experience, law enforcement agencies would not hire someone with his background. He did not provide further details on that background.

Court records show Morales was charged with a misdemeanor in 2013 for stealing four DVDs. Those charges were dismissed after he paid a $270 fine and pleaded guilty. He served in the U.S. Army's 82nd Airborne Division and later as a correctional officer and police officer. In this year's election cycle, he ran unsuccessfully for Texas' 34th Congressional District under the name Bam Morales. His campaign questionnaire noted his priorities included veterans' rights and economic issues, and he cited illegal immigration as a major national challenge. He also listed support from the organization Make America Godlier Again and appeared as a Spanish translator at a 2024 Christian conference hosted by televangelist Johnson Suleman.