The man U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement said it was pursuing when an agent struck and seriously injured a Houston construction worker had been dead for nine years, according to his family and an immigration advocacy group, raising new questions about the agency's account of the Oct. 10 incident.
The family identified the man in an ICE-released photograph as Jose Hector Jimenez Mendoza, who died in 2017, according to FIEL Houston, an immigrant rights organization. The man's daughter provided a Mexican death certificate to the group and an attorney representing the injured worker, FIEL Executive Director Cesar Espinosa said Oct. 16.
The Harris County District Attorney's Office has received the documentation, Espinosa said. A spokesperson
for the office also told The Associated Press that Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, the name ICE gave for its target, was not in the vehicle with the injured worker.
The incident left Miguel Parra Hernandez, 48, with multiple leg fractures and an injured ankle. He remains hospitalized in federal custody and needs reconstructive ankle surgery, according to AP News.
USA TODAY reached out to ICE, as well as the Harris County District Attorney's Office for additional comment.
Family disputes ICE's identification of suspect
ICE said its agents were conducting a targeted enforcement operation to arrest Mendoza-Cervantes when Parra Hernandez and another man fled on foot. The agency previously said Parra Hernandez ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck.
But the family recognized the photograph ICE released as that of Jimenez Mendoza, who died while attempting to reenter the United States, according to The New York Times.
In a statement published Oct. 15, Espinosa accused ICE of providing a false account and called on the agency to tell the truth.
"How can they have seen a dead man getting into a car? How could they have seen a dead man run?" Espinosa said in the statement.
The death certificate lists the man's name as J. Hector Jimenez Mendoza, his year of death as 2017 and the location as Laredo, Texas, NBC News reported. His daughter, Jamie Jimenez, told The New York Times that her father used aliases, including the name ICE provided.
USA TODAY reached out to FIEL Houston for additional comment on how the group verified the death certificate, the family's identification of the photograph and efforts to secure Parra Hernandez's release from ICE custody.
Video raises questions about ICE's account
Surveillance footage reviewed by authorities appears to contradict ICE's claim that Parra Hernandez stepped in front of the vehicle. The video shows a black SUV speeding over a median toward a man running away. Although another vehicle blocks the camera's view of the collision, the man is seen on the ground moments later, AP News reported.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare is investigating the incident and considering whether the ICE officer who drove the vehicle could face an aggravated assault charge involving a deadly weapon, NBC News reported. Teare has said the footage indicates the officer intentionally struck Parra Hernandez. ICE has denied that allegation.
Worker remains hospitalized in ICE custody
Parra Hernandez's attorney, Kim Bruno, told The Associated Press he was experiencing depression in federal custody, particularly after learning that he may not have been the target of the operation.
FIEL is seeking his release before he is transferred from the hospital to a federal detention center.
Bruno also represents Luis Enrique Delfin Martinez, one of two men who had been detained in a separate operation and were handcuffed in the back of the ICE vehicle when it struck Parra Hernandez. Bruno said Martinez suffered soft-tissue injuries after being thrown around inside the vehicle
FIEL has called on ICE to release body-camera footage and provide a fuller account of the incident as the district attorney's investigation continues.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at ajthompson@usatodayco.com, or on X @athompsonUSAT.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ICE pursued Houston suspect who died in 2017, family says
