Three Houston City Council members are seeking to make restrictions on police cooperation with federal immigration authorities permanent, just days after Mayor John Whitmire announced a new policy limiting contact with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Councilmembers Alejandra Salinas, Edward Pollard, and Tiffany Thomas introduced a proposed ordinance Monday that would codify Whitmire’s November 6 executive order into city law, preventing future mayors from independently reversing the policy.
The proposal would prohibit Houston Police Department officers from contacting ICE or extending an individual’s detention solely because of an administrative immigration warrant, unless the individual is also being booked into jail on criminal charges or other qualifying warrants.
Unlike criminal arrest warrants issued by judges, ICE administrative warrants are civil documents issued by federal immigration authorities.
The ordinance would also expand HPD’s existing quarterly reports on immigration enforcement, requiring additional information about the circumstances surrounding each encounter, including why an individual was jailed and whether the person was a victim, witness, or suspect.
The three council members are pursuing the measure through Proposition A, a provision of Houston’s city charter that allows at least three council members to place eligible proposals on the council agenda without the mayor’s approval.
In a joint statement, the members said their proposal would ensure the restrictions remain in place beyond Whitmire’s administration.
“Our new Prop A immigration ordinance builds on the measure we successfully fought to pass earlier this year,” they stated. “It would codify the protections in the mayor’s executive order into city law to ensure they endure far beyond any one administration.”
The council members also cited the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and injuries sustained by Miguel Parra-Hernandez during encounters with ICE as reasons for pursuing the measure.
The proposal follows a months-long dispute between Houston officials and Texas leadership over the city’s cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
In April, city council members approved an ordinance restricting HPD’s interactions with ICE, including eliminating a previous practice of holding individuals for up to 30 minutes while awaiting immigration agents.
Gov. Greg Abbott subsequently threatened to withhold approximately $114 million in public safety funding, while Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit alleging the restrictions violated Texas law prohibiting local governments from limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The city council ultimately voted 13-4 on April 22 to approve amendments negotiated between Whitmire’s administration and the governor’s office. Salinas, Pollard, and Thomas were among the four members opposing those changes.
Whitmire reversed course again last week following Democrat victories in statewide elections, directing HPD to contact ICE only when individuals with administrative immigration warrants are already being jailed on qualifying criminal charges or other warrants.
However, the mayor has expressed concerns about putting the new restrictions into city law.
In a statement reported by the Houston Chronicle, Whitmire’s office warned that additional amendments could place Houston at greater risk of violating state law, including Senate Bill 4, which restricts local policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
The dispute comes as newly released HPD records show that officers documented 88 immigration-related database hits or ICE contacts during nearly 293,000 person checks between July and September.
Of those encounters, 17 individuals were transferred to ICE custody, 58 were released at the scene, and 13 were jailed on unrelated criminal charges. The department also reported an average detention period of 46 minutes.
The proposed ordinance would require further documentation of such encounters, providing council members with additional information about how and why officers contacted federal immigration authorities.
The proposal must undergo review by the city’s legal department before advancing to city council. No vote has been scheduled, although the measure could be considered as early as December.
