Houston leads the nation in immigration arrests, topping every other major U.S. city both for ICE arrests made in the community and for detentions carried out inside jails and prisons, according to newly released federal data.
From Jan. 20 through Oct. 15, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported roughly 5,200 “at-large” arrests in the Houston area—individuals taken into custody outside of jail settings—based on data compiled by the Deportation Data Project and analyzed by the New York Times.
Over the same period, Houston also recorded the highest number of ICE arrests at jails and prisons nationwide, with approximately 9,300 detentions. Those figures place Houston ahead of cities such as New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
At the local level, city officials have repeatedly stated that Houston police are not responsible for enforcing federal immigration law. Mayor John Whitmire has said the Houston Police Department does not ask individuals about their immigration status during routine encounters and does not conduct immigration enforcement on behalf of the federal government.
At the same time, Whitmire acknowledged last month that HPD does communicate with ICE in limited circumstances, including when officers encounter individuals with outstanding warrants or when federal authorities request information following an arrest. HPD has maintained that such interactions are not immigration enforcement but part of standard law-enforcement cooperation.
Whitmire’s handling of immigration enforcement has also surfaced in local party politics. Earlier this month, Harris County Democrat Party precinct chairs voted not to endorse the mayor, pointing in part to concerns over his approach to cooperation with federal immigration authorities and his public comments about ICE activity in Houston.
Records obtained by local media show that HPD contacts with ICE have increased sharply this year. According to Houston Chronicle reporting, calls from Houston police officers to federal immigration authorities rose by more than 1,000 percent compared to the previous year, even as city officials have continued to emphasize that immigration enforcement remains a federal responsibility.
ICE activity in the Houston region has also been publicly documented through multiple enforcement operations. The agency has announced arrests in and around Houston involving individuals with prior criminal convictions, alleged gang affiliations, and outstanding removal orders, describing the region as a consistent focus of enforcement efforts.
Just last month, ICE Houston announced the arrest of over 1,500 criminal aliens, foreign fugitives, gang members, and others in a 10-day operation.
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