US Attorney, ICE push back on Harris County indictment of ICE agent

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(The Center Square) – U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Aaron Reitz and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement are pushing back against a Harris County indictment of an Immigration and Customs Enforcement officer. 

Reitz said no federal charges would be brought.

Democrat Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare announced Friday that ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales had been indicted in Houston on charges of hitting and injuring a Mexican national illegally in the country. Morales faces second-degree felony charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

At issue is a traffic stop that turned dangerous on Oct. 10. That morning, Morales initiated a stop on a vehicle driven by Mexican national Miguel Parra-Hernandez, who’s been living illegally in the U.S. for 30 years, according to ICE records. 

Instead of stopping, Parra-Hernandez drove away to avoid apprehension, ICE said. He drove west on the eastbound lane on Highway 6 into traffic and then bailed out, running on the street and in a local shopping area, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office told local news outlets.

Teare showed video footage of Parra-Hernandez and another man who bailed out from the vehicle both running to evade apprehension. He showed video footage from Morales’ bodycam and other video footage of Morales’ vehicle appearing to hit Parra-Hernandez in a parking lot. The video footage also shows Parra-Hernandez crying on the ground. 

Teare also shared audio of Morales calling 911 requesting an ambulance to the scene. Parra-Hernandez received medical treatment for a broken leg and is currently in a rehabilitation facility.

"An ICE badge does not give you a free reign to injure, kill, or violate the constitutional rights of anyone," Teare said. "My hope is this prosecution will do more than just seek justice” and “sends a loud and clear message to every ICE officer who feels they have a free pass to terrorize our streets."

After Parra Hernandez was taken into custody, ICE released a photo of Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, who it says was the target of the operation. The “criminal illegal alien remains at large after dangerous attempt to evade arrest,” it said. DHS confirmed at the time that Cervantes was illegally in the U.S. and had four prior arrests and had previously been deported.

The New York Times reported that Cervantes’ family said he died nine years ago. 

Morales is on administrative leave and has not been taken into custody.

In response to the indictment, Reitz issued a statement saying that Teare was “pursuing what looks like a political prosecution of an ICE agent for doing his job – exactly what his allies have been agitating for.”

Reitz said his office “was not consulted or even notified before this indictment. The DA’s office never contacted us. That tells you something about the approach they’ve taken.”

He also said he “personally conducted a preliminary review of the facts and law. Given what I know, I see no basis for federal charges at this time. We will, of course, continue to evaluate any relevant evidence and legal issues within our jurisdiction.

“Federal agents should not be turned into political trophies for doing the difficult and dangerous work of enforcing federal law. We stand with ICE and all our federal law enforcement partners,” he added.

ICE also issued a statement calling the indictment a "political stunt.”

“Allegations that ICE struck Miguel Parra-Hernandez intentionally are RECKLESS and FALSE,” ICE said. “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.”

Morales’ attorney, David Lindenmuth, said Morales didn’t commit a crime and Teare was indicting him “for political gain.” 

“Mr. Morales is truly a good man, a former member of our military, who has given his entire life to public service either for his country or in or adjacent to law enforcement,” Lindenmuth said, KBTX 3 News reported. “To have him charged for what was so clearly just an accident — the DA’s office, the DA himself, has invented a crime out of thin air.”

The indictment came after assaults against ICE officers have increased by more than 1700% during the Trump administration compared to the Biden administration, The Center Square reported. 

Border Patrol and ICE officers in Texas have also been the target of bomb threats, white powder, criminal foreign nationals biting and strangling them as well as targeted vigilante shootings, The Center Square reported.