Advocacy groups for immigrants are disputing the account put forward by Immigration and Customs Enforcement regarding an Oct. 10 operation in Houston during which Miguel Parra Hernandez, a 48-year-old man from Mexico, sustained a broken leg.

Speaking at a news conference held at its Houston headquarters on October 16, 2026, the advocacy organization FIEL told reporters that Jose Mendoza-Cervantes — the individual named as the target of the ICE operation — was a person who had already died some years prior. FIEL has reported that fractures across both legs have left Parra Hernandez hospitalized, where reconstructive ankle surgery also awaits.

According to ICE, its personnel observed Parra Hernandez alongside a man they had identified as Jose Mendoza-Cervantes — the intended focus of the operation — and moved to take both individuals into custody. FIEL contended that the individual depicted in an image released by ICE was not the person authorities identified him as, but rather Jose Hector Jimenez, a man who had died some years prior.

Documentation of Jimenez's death was handed to prosecutors after his daughter supplied the paperwork to the organization, which then passed it along. Toribio Rendon told a television news outlet that the man known as Jose Hector Jimenez had been the father of his late wife. FIEL reported that Jimenez died at a point when federal immigration authorities had him under active pursuit, as he was in the process of crossing back into the country.

Claudia Espinosa, who leads FIEL as its executive director, disputed the agency's account and raised the question of how its agents could have observed someone who was already dead. Rafael Lemaitre, a spokesperson for the Harris County District Attorney's Office, told reporters that the individual ICE had linked to the name Mendoza-Cervantes was not present inside Parra Hernandez's vehicle.

Video recorded at the scene presents a different account from the one ICE put forward, in which Parra Hernandez was described as having walked into the path of the vehicle. Footage captured a dark-colored SUV mounting a median strip and then accelerating toward a person fleeing on foot. The footage shows the SUV positioned just inches from the man as he ran, though a second vehicle in the frame cuts off the angle where contact would have occurred. The footage then captures him lying on the ground.

In the aftermath of the incident, the Harris County District Attorney's Office is examining whether the ICE officer at the wheel could face criminal charges, as questions about how the operation was conducted continue to draw scrutiny. Prosecutors at the Harris County District Attorney's Office are weighing whether to file criminal charges against the ICE officer at the wheel of the vehicle.

Defense attorney Kim Bruno informed members of the press that Parra Hernandez has been experiencing depression while held in federal detention, a condition that worsened upon his learning that he had not been the intended focus of the operation. Parra Hernandez's brother Roberto Parra, who described the two of them spending their days side by side on construction sites, told reporters that his brother deserves to be treated with dignity. Roberto Parra also noted that Parra Hernandez has dependants relying on him financially.

FIEL is pushing for Parra Hernandez to be released while he remains in hospital care, ahead of any transfer to a federal detention facility. Nidia Delfín, identified as the sister of Luis Enrique Delfín — a passenger aboard the ICE vehicle involved in the incident — publicly urged authorities to release her brother from federal detention so he could offer testimony in the matter.