Immigrant ICE searched for in Texas when agent hit man with car has been dead for years: Report

The immigrant that federal agents were pursuing when an Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officer hit and injured a man with a vehicle in Houston has apparently been dead for almost a decade, according to an immigration advocacy group.

Miguel Parra Hernandez, a 48-year-old immigrant without legal status, was driving to work Saturday morning when federal authorities attempted to pull him over.

Parra Hernandez stopped his car, and he and his passenger attempted to run away. Surveillance footage from the incident shows the two men running away while an SUV veers and hits Parra Hernandez.

Following the incident, 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.

Harris County District Attorney’s Office spokesperson Rafael Lemaitre told the Associated Press that Mendoza-Cervantes was not in that vehicle.

The New York Times first reported that at a press conference on Friday, FIEL Houston, an immigration advocacy group, said the alleged suspect died years ago based on documentation provided by the man’s family.

FIEL said ICE released a photo of a man identified as Mendoza-Cervantes, but he is actually Jose Hector Jimenez, who died years ago while being pursued by federal authorities as he tried to reenter the U.S.

Jimenez’s daughter provided his death certificate from the Mexican government, which has been turned over to the district attorney, according to the Times report. NBC News posted a snapshot of the 2017 death certificate of Jimenez.

Parra Hernandez suffered multiple injuries to his leg and would need to undergo surgery, according to Cesar Espinosa, the executive director of FIEL.

An ICE spokesperson said officers were attempting “to apprehend the illegal aliens,” when Parra Hernandez “ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck.”

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced Monday that his office had opened an investigation into the alleged use of force and requested assistance from the community.

“ICE tactics in our community are growing more brazen and more dangerous,” Teare said in a statement shared on social media. “High-speed pursuits and aggressive operations on busy streets put everyone at risk.”

In a statement to The Hill, an ICE spokesperson said the claims that a federal officer purposefully hit Parra Hernandez 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,” the spokesperson added.