A vehicle driven by Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents hit and injured a man in the greater Houston area on Saturday, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said.
“The incident appears to have occurred while ICE authorities were conducting an enforcement action in the area,” the sheriff’s office said in a statement.
During a press conference, Major McConnell of the Harris County Sheriff’s special investigation bureau said the sheriff’s office was called to the scene around 7:20 a.m.
ICE agents were headed south in pursuit of a wanted suspect, McConnell said, and the suspect drove west in an eastbound lane. The suspect bailed out of his vehicle and went on foot, he said.
The driver and passenger fled and ICE agents attempted to capture them both, he said. While trying to capture the passenger, the ICE agent hit him with his vehicle.
The victim was taken to a local hospital. McConnell said it appears the man has a broken leg. McConnell said the victim is a 48-year-old male and is currently in the custody of ICE at the hospital.
In a statement provided to CBS News Saturday, an ICE spokesperson said that agents were “conducting a targeted enforcement operation” to arrest Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, a Mexican national and undocumented immigrant.
During the operation, ICE agents observed Mendoza-Cervantes and a second Mexican national and undocumented immigrant, identified as Miguel Parra-Hernandez, enter a vehicle and drive away.
According to the ICE spokesperson, when they attempted to stop the vehicle, the two subjects stopped and ran away on foot.
During the ensuing chase, Parra-Hernandez “ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck.”
The ICE spokesperson said that Parra-Hernandez was taken to an area hospital with injuries believed to be non-life-threatening.
Mendoza-Cervantes escaped and remains at large, ICE said.
In its statement, ICE alleged that Mendoza-Cervantes had four prior arrests for drunken driving charges, as well as an arrest for charges of unlawful possession of a firearm. ICE did not confirm if he was convicted of any of those allegations. ICE stated that an immigration judge had issued him a final order of removal. The agency spokesperson also said that he had been previously deported twice.
