ICE Agent to Turn In Monday After Crash

A federal immigration officer accused of striking a man with his SUV in Houston plans to turn himself in to authorities on Monday, his attorney told The Associated Press. Mario Alberto Morales, a 33-year-old agent with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, faces a felony charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. A grand jury indicted him on Friday following a collision that occurred on October 10.

Morales was driving a nondescript SUV when he hit Miguel Parra Hernandez, a 48-year-old construction worker, in a parking lot. Parra sustained a broken leg and remains in federal custody while recovering at a rehabilitation center. Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare stated that prosecutors possess a substantial amount of information regarding Morales and noted that law enforcement agencies often hesitate to hire candidates with his specific background.

Defense attorney David Lindenmuth characterized the incident as a clear accident. He told AP that local authorities invented a crime out of nothing. Lindenmuth confirmed that Morales served in the 82nd Airborne Division of the U.S. Army before working as a prison officer and law enforcement agent. He also confirmed that Morales ran an unsuccessful campaign for the 34th congressional district in Texas this year under the name Bam Morales.

Body camera footage released by Teare shows Morales making sharp steering turns before stopping. He exits the vehicle and turns toward Parra, who is lying on the ground shouting. Another ICE agent arrives, and Morales is heard saying, I was coming in and I hit him with the car. Surveillance video previously released shows the SUV crossing a median to strike Parra as the worker runs away.

Parra told police he fled a traffic stop after Morales began putting on a mask. A Harris County police report states that Parra said the agent threw his car at him. Morales told officers he did not brake before the impact but claimed he did not hit Parra intentionally. ICE officials stated that Parra ran in front of the vehicle.

The agency said the operation targeted Jose Mendoza Cervantes, whom officers 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. Morales is part of a small group of federal agents criminally charged for injuring people during the current administration’s aggressive immigration enforcement.

Last month, ICE agent Christian Castro pleaded not guilty to charges of lying to the FBI after shooting a Venezuelan man during operations in Minneapolis. Many other ICE shootings, including some fatal ones, have not resulted in criminal charges against the officers involved. Morales has served as an ICE agent for just over a year, according to Lindenmuth.

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 reached a guilty plea agreement. He later appeared at a 2024 Christian conference organized by televangelist Johnson Suleman, where he translated Suleman’s words into Spanish while the preacher served food to migrants.