Houston Grand Jury Indicts ICE Agent in Alleged Assault

A Texas grand jury has handed down an indictment to an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent accused of using his vehicle as a weapon during a Houston encounter with a Mexican construction worker, reports the New York Times. Authorities say 33-year-old agent Mario Alberto Morales is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon after a federal vehicle hit 48-year-old Miguel Parra Hernandez earlier this month.

Parra Hernandez, an undocumented immigrant who has lived in Houston since the early 1990s, was driving to work on Oct. 10 when ICE agents in unmarked vehicles tried to pull him over, according to local immigration advocates. ICE has said he ran in front of one of the vehicles and called accusations that the officer intentionally struck him false and "reckless," per the AP. DA Sean Teare, who brought the charges against Morales, says that surveillance footage contradicts that account and appears to show Parra Hernandez and another man running away as an ICE vehicle turns a corner and strikes him from behind. ICE did not immediately respond to a request for comment, notes the AP.