Houston Mayor John Whitmire issued an executive order Friday, Nov. 6, limiting when city police may contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Houston Public Media reported. Officers will contact ICE only when a person with a civil immigration warrant is charged with a jailable offense, the station reported.
Related: Hinojosa’s Data Center Moratorium Pledge.
What the order does
Officers can no longer detain people solely because of civil immigration warrants, Houston Public Media reported. ABC13 described the standard as an active criminal warrant or an arrest for a new criminal offense that could result in jail time.
Police Chief Noe Diaz offered a traffic stop as an example. “HPD will no longer contact ICE if they have an administrative warrant and they are not arrested,” Diaz said, according to Houston Public Media.
Why now
“I do this to begin a healing process, reduce fear and anxiety across our community,” Whitmire said at a news conference. “I also do this knowing that elections matter.”
Gov. Greg Abbott lost his bid for a fourth term to Democrat Gina Hinojosa, ABC13 reported.
In April, Whitmire and City Council members tried to curtail police coordination with ICE, Houston Public Media reported. Abbott threatened to revoke more than $110 million in public safety funding, and the city reversed the measure.
Officers contacted ICE nearly 200 times from April through September, according to department reports cited by the station. Those contacts included at least 36 instances in which officers handed people directly to ICE.
Reaction
City Council Member Alejandra Salinas, who led the April ordinance, called the change a “great step forward,” Houston Public Media reported.
ICE said on social media that Whitmire was “directly advocating for policies that protect some of the worst criminals in America,” the station reported. The Department of Homeland Security said it was disappointed by the order, ABC13 reported.
Abbott and the Texas attorney general’s office did not immediately respond to Houston Public Media’s request for comment.
“I’m willing to be held accountable. I will take that risk,” Whitmire said, according to ABC13.
More coverage is in our politics section and crime and law section.
Sources
- Houston Public Media: Houston Mayor John Whitmire directs HPD to reduce cooperation with ICE after midterm results
- ABC13: Houston mayor signs order to limit cooperation with ICE, says ‘elections matter’ after Democrats win
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