On November 6, Houston’s Mayor John Whitmire signed an executive order aimed at limiting cooperation between the local police department and federal immigration enforcement agencies. This significant move, announced during a press conference, is intended to alleviate the fear and anxiety felt by residents across the city while ensuring that new offenders with serious crimes—including violent offenses—are removed from the streets.
According to statements from the mayor’s office, the new directive instructs the Houston Police Department (HPD) to engage with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) only when an individual has been arrested for an arrestable offense and is subject to an administrative arrest warrant from ICE. This marks a substantial alteration in the existing protocol for local law enforcement regarding immigration-related matters.
The Chief of Police, Noe Diaz, emphasized that the department will no longer share information with ICE about individuals who are under an administrative arrest warrant but have not yet been detained. Diaz elaborated during the press conference, providing a practical example: “For instance, if our officers stop a vehicle for a minor traffic violation and issue a ticket, that person can continue their daily life after receiving the citation without any further police interference tied to immigration status.”
Following the issuance of this executive order, the police chief promptly communicated the changes to all officers through an internal memo, ensuring that the entire department is aligned with the new policy.
The mayor’s administration reached out to Governor Greg Abbott’s office and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), which oversees ICE, for comments regarding this new directive. However, as of the time of this report, no responses have been received from these entities.
This executive order stands in stark contrast to the immigration policies advocated by Texas’s Republican Governor Abbott. Abbott recently faced electoral defeat during the midterm elections held on November 3, losing to Democratic challenger Gina Hinojosa. His current term as governor is set to officially conclude on January 19, 2027.
Hinojosa, a state representative from Austin, is poised to make history as the first Democrat to hold the office of Governor of Texas since Ann Richards left office in 1995.
Mayor Whitmire noted that he has been in communication with the incoming Texas leadership and bipartisan legislators, emphasizing his willingness to take responsibility for changing the current policies, even though the sitting government will remain in office for an additional two months. He stated, “Elections are important,” and reaffirmed that immigration policy should not be a partisan issue.
Earlier this year, in April, the Houston City Council passed a measure intended to restrict local police collaboration with ICE. In response, Governor Abbott threatened to withhold $110 million in public safety funding intended for Houston. At the same time, he also indicated that funding cuts could impact Dallas and Austin due to similar policy positions.
Subsequently, the Houston City Council voted to amend the measure, with a vote of 13 in favor and 4 against.
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton took legal action on April 16, filing a lawsuit that accused the city’s measure of violating a state law passed in 2017 that prohibits local policies from limiting immigration enforcement.
Paxton recently lost his campaign for a U.S. Senate seat during the midterm elections to Democratic state representative James Talarico.
In July of this year, an incident involving ICE resulted in gunfire during an arrest operation in Houston, tragically leading to the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican national. The occurrence sparked immediate protests across the city. ICE confirmed that Salgado Araujo was an undocumented immigrant and claimed he ignored multiple verbal commands, attempted to flee, and drove his vehicle into an immigration enforcement vehicle, subsequently trying to ram into an ICE officer.
In a statement regarding the incident, ICE explained that the officer fired in self-defense, resulting in Salgado Araujo being hit. He was transported to a hospital, where he later succumbed to his injuries. The agency noted a growing trend of violent confrontations faced by its officers during immigration enforcement actions.
Contributions to this report were also made by Chase Smith, Tom Gantert, and the Associated Press.