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A U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent has been placed on administrative leave following an incident in Houston in which the agent allegedly struck an immigrant with a government vehicle. A senior Department of Homeland Security official confirmed the leave status to NBC News, adding that an internal investigation is now underway.
Key Witness Interviewed at Border Detention Facility
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told NBC News on Thursday that his office has interviewed a key witness to the incident. The witness, identified by advocate Cesar Espinosa as José Presa Cañada, was handcuffed inside the ICE vehicle at the time it struck Miguel Parra Hernández on October 10. Teare described Presa as having “a front row seat to the incident and everything that led up to it.”
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Investigators traveled to the Port Isabel Processing Center in south Texas to conduct the interview. The facility sits roughly 35 to 40 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border and historically serves as a final holding point before deportation. Teare said his office gathered “a significant amount of relevant details” from the witness.
Espinosa, cofounder and executive director of FIEL Houston, expressed concern about Presa’s continued detention. “It’s very troubling,” Espinosa said Thursday. “We want to know why he’s there and why he hasn’t been released yet and why they are trying to deport him so expeditiously.”
The district attorney’s office said it notified ICE shortly after the incident that it needed to interview Presa. In response, ICE sent an email urging the DA’s office to travel to Port Isabel quickly, because the agency planned to deport him. ICE did not immediately respond to questions about Presa’s detention or its deportation plans.
Grand Jury Presentation Could Come Within Days
Teare said his office is now compiling all gathered evidence and expects to present the case to a grand jury very soon. He indicated that could happen as early as next week. The October 10 collision left Parra hospitalized with multiple injuries and requiring surgery. Teare said the case could result in aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charges.
A second witness, Luis Delfín Martínez, was also handcuffed inside the ICE vehicle at the time of the incident. According to advocates and family members, authorities are holding Martínez at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe, Texas, north of Houston.
Meanwhile, the district attorney’s office has issued subpoenas for Parra’s medical records and for records from emergency medical personnel who responded to the scene. Teare has also interviewed Parra directly.
Video Evidence and Data Loss Raise Concerns
Multiple ICE officers at the scene wore body cameras during the incident. ICE is currently reviewing that footage as part of its internal investigation. However, DHS officials said no decision has been made on whether to share the video with the public or with the Harris County district attorney’s office, which is running a separate investigation.
Security footage obtained by NBC affiliate KPRC Houston shows a white truck facing against traffic on a busy road. Parra and another man exit the truck and run. At nearly the same moment, another unmarked vehicle crosses a yellow median and moves toward Parra. The vehicle then swerves left into Parra’s path, in front of a stopped truck near a shopping center. When that truck moves, a man appears lying on the pavement behind the ICE vehicle.
Teare told NBC News it is “pretty obvious” from the video evidence his office collected, including drone footage, that ICE intentionally struck Parra. ICE has called that allegation reckless and false. The agency previously stated that Parra was not its intended arrest target and that he ran into the vehicle’s path.
Furthermore, Teare said he attempted to download data from the ICE vehicle while it remained at the scene. However, an agent drove the car away before that could happen. Teare, who previously led the Harris County DA’s vehicular crimes division for several years, warned that driving the vehicle may have automatically erased critical data.
Efforts to Prevent Deportation of Key Witnesses
Teare, Parra’s attorney Kim Bruno, and various advocates have all pressed the Trump administration not to deport Parra or the two men who were inside the ICE vehicle. Earlier this week, Teare said his office contacted consulates for all three men’s countries of origin. His office offered to assist with applications for U visas, which protect witnesses who are key to criminal investigations. “We’re working with the powers that be in a really significant effort to keep them here in this country,” Teare said.
