Houston, Texas - Federal immigration agents in an unmarked SUV ran over a Mexican man during a pursuit in Texas, breaking his right leg in three places, his lawyer said Monday.
On Saturday, 48-year-old construction worker Miguel Parra was on his way to work when he was struck during an Immigration and Customs Enforcement operation in Houston, Texas.
Surveillance video captured the moment when the dark SUV caught up with Parra, who was fleeing his vehicle on foot, and ran over him.
ICE officials told Houston Public Media that Parra "ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck."
Parra's lawyer Kim Bruno challenged that characterization, telling reporters: "What happened is not an accident, it is something (done) intentionally and that is abuse."
ICE said they were seeking to detain Parra's passenger, who had a criminal record.
Cesar Espinosa, director of immigrant rights group FIEL Houston, said Parra has undergone surgery for his leg.
"He has an injury on his hip, a little below his knee and his ankle is fractured," Espinosa said. "He still has multiple surgeries to go" to "reconstruct his leg."
Investigation launched into ICE attack
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare said his office will investigate the incident as a potential crime of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.
"Multiple investigators who have decades of experience investigating auto-pedestrian crashes have all watched the surveillance, seen the scene and believe it is not an accidental strike," he told the Houston Chronicle.
The incident came two days after Dominican national Oscar Bergal (28) was shot and wounded by an ICE agent in New York while he was in a car with a five-year-old child.
Last month, Venezuelan national Wilber Garces was shot in the back by an ICE agent while he was working as a delivery driver in Austin, Texas.
In July, another ICE agent shot and killed Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado. Eyewitness accounts dispute the official's accusation that he was attempting to run over an officer.
ICE agents' violent actions during Donald Trump's second presidency have drawn protests and criticism from all over the country.