ICE Agent Placed on Administrative Leave After Houston Pedestrian Collision

A senior Department of Homeland Security official told NBC News that the Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent whose vehicle struck immigrant Miguel Parra Hernández in Houston on Oct. 10 has been placed on administrative leave pending investigation. The official said ICE officers on the scene were wearing body cameras and that the agency is reviewing the footage, though no decision has been made about releasing it to the public or to the Harris County district attorney’s office, which is conducting its own probe.

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said his office has interviewed a key witness who was handcuffed in the back of the ICE vehicle at the time of the collision. The witness, identified by Teare and FIEL Houston executive director Cesar Espinosa as José Presa Cañada, provided “a front row seat to the incident and everything that led up to it.”

“We did get a significant amount of relevant details from him,” Teare said.

Teare indicated that the district attorney’s office is compiling evidence and expects to present the case to a grand jury within days, potentially as early as next week. He also noted that the incident could lead to aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges.

“It’s very troubling” that Presa remains at the Port Isabel Processing Center, Espinosa said, adding that officials want to know why he has not been released and why deportation proceedings are proceeding quickly.

The collision left Parra hospitalized with multiple injuries requiring surgery. ICE has said Parra was not the target of the arrest and that he ran into the vehicle’s path. Video obtained by a local NBC affiliate shows a white truck traveling opposite traffic, two men exiting, and an unmarked vehicle crossing a median and striking Parra.

The district attorney’s office has issued subpoenas for Parra’s medical records and for emergency response documentation. It has also sought to secure visas for the witnesses, contacting the consulates of their home countries to assist with U-visa applications. Teare said the office is working with federal authorities to keep the witnesses in the United States.

ICE has not responded to requests for comment on Presa’s detention or potential deportation, and an ICE agent reportedly drove the vehicle away from the scene, which could have erased data from the vehicle’s systems, according to Teare.