Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced Friday that the city’s police will limit their cooperation with federal immigration authorities (ICE). Under the new rules, officers will not notify ICE about people in the U.S. illegally if the contact involves minor offenses or other nonviolent incidents. The decision came days after the electoral defeat of Texas’ Republican governor, Greg Abbott, whose administration had earlier threatened Houston with the loss of more than $100 million in state funding for limiting cooperation with federal authorities.
Whitmire told The New York Times that the new policy will cover, among other things, routine traffic stops and minor offenses.
“You write a ticket or give a warning and let them go on their way. No contact with ICE in nonviolent cases that don’t carry jail time,” he explained. He stressed that police will still notify federal immigration authorities about people charged with new crimes when they are brought in for booking.
The change marks a departure from rules introduced under pressure from the Abbott administration. In March, Whitmire and Police Chief Noe Diaz adopted procedures requiring a supervisor to be called if an immigration warrant came to light during a stop. If ICE officers did not arrive within 30 minutes, the detained person could be released. In April, the Houston City Council approved additional limits on how long officers would wait for federal agents. But Abbott threatened to withhold more than $100 million in state funding, and then-Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into the city’s immigration policy. As a result, Houston officials gave officers more latitude to contact ICE, including in cases involving civil immigration warrants.
Whitmire’s decision followed a shift in Texas’ political landscape. In Tuesday’s election, Republican Greg Abbott lost his bid for a fourth term to Democrat Gina Hinojosa, who will take office as governor in January 2027. Democrat James Talarico, meanwhile, won the race for the U.S. Senate, claiming the seat for his party for the first time since Lloyd Bentsen’s victory in 1988.
The new rules drew criticism from the federal Department of Homeland Security (DHS). In a statement to Fox News Digital, the department expressed disappointment at the limits on local police cooperation with ICE, arguing that joint efforts are essential to detaining foreign nationals “convicted of serious crimes.” A DHS spokesperson pointed to earlier arrests in Houston of three people from Cuba, Vietnam and Guatemala who, according to the department, had been convicted of offenses including murder and sexual crimes against a child.
Federal authorities also warned that limiting cooperation may require increasing the presence of ICE agents in the city.
Editor: JŁ
