ICE Officer in Houston Crash Is Put on Leave as a Family Says the Man Agents Were Chasing Died in 2017

The ICE officer whose SUV struck Miguel Parra Hernandez outside Houston is on administrative leave, a senior DHS official told NBC News. A family’s account that the man agents say they were chasing died in 2017 now puts the basis for the stop under scrutiny, not just the driving.

The ICE officer who was driving the SUV that struck Miguel Parra Hernandez in northwest Harris County on Oct. 10 has been placed on administrative leave during an internal investigation, a senior Homeland Security official told NBC News. On Oct. 15, The New York Times reported that the man ICE says its officers were trying to arrest may have been dead for nine years, according to a woman who says he was her father. A case that began as a dispute over one officer’s driving now also raises the question of why agents stopped the truck at all, as Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare weighs an aggravated assault charge.

Leave is not a finding of wrongdoing, and DHS has not named the officer. Several officers at the scene wore body cameras, and ICE is reviewing that footage internally, KPRC 2 reported, citing NBC. DHS has not decided whether to share it with Teare, who says Parra Hernandez “was intentionally struck and run over.” ICE says he ran in front of its vehicle. This site’s earlier report covered Teare’s account that an agent drove the SUV away before its crash data could be downloaded.

A target who may not have been alive

ICE has described its target, Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, as a Mexican national with a deportation order, four DUI arrests, two prior deportations and five illegal reentries, and said agents saw him get into a truck driven by Parra Hernandez, according to KPRC. Two men ran from the truck; one escaped, and Parra Hernandez was struck, FOX 26 reported, citing the sheriff’s office.

Jamie Jimenez of Dallas told the Times that the man in ICE’s bulletin is her father, Jose Hector Jimenez Mendoza, who she said used aliases including the name ICE released and died in October 2017. She gave the paper a Mexican death certificate recording his death in Laredo, Texas. The Times said her photos appeared to match the DHS image and that court records showed her father faced the same types of charges ICE listed. ICE and DHS did not answer the paper’s questions and have neither confirmed nor disputed her account.

That account does not settle who was in the truck; a living person could be using a dead man’s alias. Either way, the stop’s legality turns on what agents actually saw. Under Hill v. California (1971), arresting the wrong person is lawful when officers reasonably and in good faith believe he is the person they have grounds to arrest. FIEL Houston’s Cesar Espinosa says the truck’s passenger did not resemble the bulletin photo, and Parra Hernandez’s lawyer, Kim Bruno, says her client has never heard of Mendoza-Cervantes. That dispute is likely to matter most in a civil suit and in how a jury would view the officer, if charges are filed.

It is unlikely to help Parra Hernandez’s own immigration case. Under INS v. Lopez-Mendoza (1984), evidence from an unlawful stop is generally still usable in deportation proceedings, except, in some appeals courts, after an egregious violation. DHS says he is in the country without permission; his lawyer says he has lived in the U.S. for 34 years with no criminal record, NBC News reported.

The witnesses are in ICE custody too

Parra Hernandez, 48, remains in ICE custody at a hospital after surgery for a broken leg and still needs ankle surgery, Bruno said, according to KPRC. NBC News has reported that advocates fear the people held in the back of the ICE vehicle, potential witnesses, could be deported. KPRC has reported that Teare’s office will support U visa petitions for Parra Hernandez and two of them.

A U visa certification under 8 CFR 214.14 supports a petition but does not stop removal. After an ICE officer fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo in July, the district attorney’s office certified three passengers as needed witnesses, and U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison barred the removal or transfer of one of them outside the Southern District of Texas while his habeas petition was pending, FOX 26 reported. That protection depends on a detainee reaching federal court before ICE moves him, so the practical contest here is between the county’s investigation and ICE’s removal timeline.

Next to watch: whether Teare files a charge, which the officer could move to federal court to claim Supremacy Clause immunity; whether DHS shares the body-camera video; and whether DHS answers the Times’ account of its target.

This article is for general information and is not legal advice.

Sources

Vasanth Vaidyanathan, Esq.

Administrator

Vasanth Vaidyanathan is an immigration attorney with over 20 years of experience focused exclusively on U.S. immigration and nationality law. He holds a LL.M. from California Western School of Law, San Deigo and advises individuals and businesses on employment and family-based immigration matters, including H-1B, PERM, EB categories, and adjustment of status. He has also been a featured speaker at immigration seminars across the U.S. To reach Vasanth visit: https://www.vnathan.com/

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