Houston councilors seek to lock in police limits on immigration cooperation

Three Houston City Council members introduced a measure on Monday to permanently restrict how the Houston Police Department works with federal immigration authorities. The proposal would convert a temporary executive order into binding city code, ensuring the rules survive changes in municipal leadership.

Council Members Alejandra Salinas, Edward Pollard, and Tiffany Thomas drafted the bill to match the directive Mayor John Whitmire signed on November 6. The primary distinction between the current order and the new proposal is durability. An ordinance requires a legislative vote to change, whereas an executive order can be rescinded by a single decision from the mayor's office.

Under the proposed rules, police officers could no longer extend a traffic stop, detain an individual, or notify Immigration and Customs Enforcement solely based on a civil administrative immigration warrant. An exception exists if the person is also arrested for a jailable criminal offense. The measure would also expand the city's quarterly transparency reports, requiring specific details on the reason for every jail booking and whether ICE was contacted regarding a victim or a suspect.

This effort follows a months-long dispute over local immigration enforcement. In April, the council approved a similar ordinance that ended the practice of waiting up to 30 minutes for ICE during traffic stops. State officials later threatened to withhold more than $110 million in public safety funding if Houston did not amend the measure. Whitmire pushed for amendments, citing the city's reliance on state and federal grants.

The new proposal, labeled Prop A, aims to finalize these protections. In a joint statement, the three council members cited recent incidents involving ICE agents as evidence for the urgency. They referenced the killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and the serious injuries sustained by Miguel Parra-Hernandez. The group noted that Texans voted for Democratic candidates for governor and attorney general last week, viewing the result as a signal to codify local protections.

Mayor Whitmire's executive order is already in effect. Police Chief J. Noe Diaz stated that the directive was distributed to officers immediately and will be read at roll call for five consecutive days. The department's latest quarterly report showed 88 immigration-related ICE contacts between July and September. During that period, 17 people were transferred to ICE custody, and 58 were released at the scene. The average detention time for traffic stops rose to 46 minutes by September, a figure that drew criticism from advocates.

Cesar Espinosa, executive director of FIEL Houston, welcomed the executive order in a statement but maintained that the organization continues to demand the removal of ICE from the city. The proposed ordinance has not yet been scheduled for a vote by the full City Council.