that neither of the witnesses know an immigrant named José Mendoza Cervantes, the man ICE officials said was the intended target of the operation. In a statement, ICE officials said Mendoza Cervantes had a lengthy criminal history and was driving the truck Parra Hernandez rode in before he fled the vehicle and was struck.

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 We can confirm 100% that all the people that we have talked to do not know, have never seen, have never met, and do not know the whereabouts of Mr. José Mendoza Cervantes,  Espinosa said.

The truck's driver was a man that Espinosa only identified as  Omar  who does not match Mendoza Cervantes' description.

 As a matter of fact, we do not know if Mr. José Mendoza exists,  Espinosa said, adding that  Omar  will eventually come forward to tell his side of the story.

A spokesperson for the ICE office in Houston did not respond to a request for comment about the alleged discrepancy.

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Espinosa and Bruno declined to identify the other passenger who was with Delfin but confirmed both men are being held at the Montgomery Processing Center in Conroe.

Nidia Delfin, Luis Delfin's sister, said that like Parra Hernandez, her brother has lived in the United States for more than three decades.

 He owns his own small company, he hires people from the community and he is a good man,  she said.   He was just going for breakfast with his employees on the way to work when they got pulled over. 

Nidia Delfin said her brother had a pending application for legal status but did not elaborate on whether that was an application for a visa or permanent residency.

She asked for the public's help in aiding the investigation.

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 I've seen videos, there's so many people around that witness and no one comes up,  she said.  My brother is afraid, my parents are afraid, we as a family are afraid. But we are speaking up and we are asking the community to step up. 

Nidia, sister of Luis Delfin Martínez, a key witness to the Immigration and Customs Enforcement action involving Miguel Parra Hernandez, speaks during a news conference in Houston on Wednesday, Oct. 14, 2026. Raquel Natalicchio/Houston Chronicle

Espinosa of FIEL said it's unclear if the ICE agents involved in Saturday's operation were equipped with body cameras but implored the agency to turn any evidence over to investigators.

 If they were, then those need to be turned over immediately to the district attorney's office so that we can have a full review of the events that occurred,  he said.

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