An ICE vehicle hit and injured a 48-year-old man during an enforcement operation in the greater Houston area on Saturday, the Harris County Sheriff’s Office said.
The man was taken to hospital with what appeared to be a broken leg and remained in the custody of Immigration and Customs Enforcement there, Major McConnell of the sheriff’s special investigations bureau said.
Deputies were called to the scene at about 7.20am. Mr McConnell said ICE agents had been pursuing a wanted suspect travelling south when the suspect drove west in an eastbound lane.
The suspect then abandoned his vehicle and fled on foot, while the driver and a passenger also ran, according to the sheriff’s office account. An ICE agent attempting to catch the passenger struck him with the vehicle.
ICE said its agents were carrying out a targeted operation to arrest Jose Mendoza-Cervantes, whom the agency identified as a Mexican national and undocumented immigrant.
The agency said agents saw Mr Mendoza-Cervantes and another man, identified as Miguel Parra-Hernandez, enter a vehicle and drive away. When agents tried to stop it, both men stopped and ran from the vehicle.
ICE said Mr Parra-Hernandez “ran in front of an ICE vehicle and was struck”. It said his injuries were believed to be non-life-threatening.
Mr Mendoza-Cervantes escaped and remained at large, ICE said. The agency alleged that he had previously been arrested four times on drunken-driving charges and once over the alleged unlawful possession of a firearm, but did not say whether he had been convicted.
ICE also said an immigration judge had issued Mr Mendoza-Cervantes with a final order of removal and that he had previously been deported twice.
