Advocates fear potential witnesses handcuffed in back of ICE vehicle that struck Houston man could be deported

HOUSTON — Two handcuffed men were in the backseat of an ICE vehicle Saturday when it struck and injured Miguel Parra Hernandez as he fled on foot in Houston.

Advocates are fighting to make sure the men — now potential witnesses — are not deported.

At a news conference Wednesday, family members, advocates and attorneys identified one of the men as Luis Delfín Enríquez, 48.

Nidia Delfín, Delfín’s sister, said her brother was handcuffed in the backseat of the ICE vehicle when it hit Parra, adding that he was on his way to breakfast with employees when he was apprehended by ICE. She said that Delfín is not a criminal, that he has no arrest warrants and that he was in the process of getting his green card, which means he was on the path to being a legal permanent resident.

“He owns his own small company. He hires people from the community. He is a good man,” she said, adding that he witnessed “this horrific incident.”

She said that she, her parents and her brother are afraid but that they are speaking up so Parra “can get justice.” She pleaded with others in the community who witnessed the incident — she said she has seen videos on social media — to do the same and share the information they have.

“What was done to him is not OK,” she said, referring to Parra. “It’s not how we’re supposed to treat other human beings.”

Cesar Espinosa of FIEL Houston, an immigrant civil rights organization who is representing Parra’s family, said the men held in the ICE vehicle “witnessed everything that happened,” including “the moment when Mr. Miguel [Parra] was run over.”

Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare told NBC News on Tuesday that videos gathered by his office suggest that Parra was struck intentionally. Teare said his office is seeking to interview the witnesses as it investigates the case.

“This was an intentional striking and running over of the person by the vehicle, and in that case, that is an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon in Texas,” he said.

A senior Department of Homeland Security official told NBC News on Tuesday that ICE officers on the scene were wearing body cameras and that the agency is reviewing video for an internal investigation.

ICE has said allegations that the agency intentionally struck Parra are “RECKLESS and FALSE.”

Espinosa said that if there is video from body cameras, it should be turned over to the district attorney’s office immediately.

A government watchdog report released Wednesday found that Customs and Border Protection and ICE have not developed specific operational guidance to explain how their personnel should use body cameras.