Three Houston City Council members are seeking to establish permanent city law governing how the Houston Police Department (HPD) interacts with federal immigration authorities, following a new executive order from Mayor John Whitmire.

Council Members Alejandra Salinas, At-Large Position 4, Edward Pollard, District J, and Tiffany Thomas, District F, introduced an immigration ordinance that would incorporate the restrictions outlined in Whitmire’s Nov. 6 executive order into Houston’s municipal code.

The proposed legislation comes after more than a year of community organizing, public advocacy and debate over HPD’s role in federal immigration enforcement.

Proposed ordinance would strengthen restrictions and reporting

Under the proposal, HPD officers would be prohibited from extending traffic stops, detaining individuals or contacting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) solely because of a civil administrative immigration warrant unless a separate criminal offense punishable by jail time is involved.

The measure would also expand HPD’s quarterly public reporting requirements concerning interactions with ICE.

The additional reporting would include the reasons individuals were booked into jail and whether ICE was contacted about someone identified as a victim or a suspect.

By placing these requirements in city law, the council members aim to prevent a future mayor from reversing the protections through executive action alone.

In a joint statement, Salinas, Pollard and Thomas said the proposed ordinance reflects continued demands from Houston families, workers and community advocates who have called for changes to local police interactions with federal immigration authorities.

They also referenced the death of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo and the serious injuries sustained by Miguel Parra-Hernandez during encounters involving ICE, emphasizing the importance of establishing the proposed protections.

The council members said the measure is intended to protect constitutional rights, maintain community trust and allow HPD to concentrate on investigating serious crimes.

A renewed effort following April's City Council vote

The latest proposal builds on an immigration ordinance that Salinas introduced with Council Members Abbie Kamin and Pollard earlier this year.

On April 8, Houston City Council approved that measure in a 12-5 vote. The ordinance addressed how HPD officers handle civil administrative immigration warrants, established requirements for routine traffic stops to conclude when their lawful purpose ends and expanded public reporting on interactions between local police and federal immigration authorities. 

The April ordinance followed a March directive from Whitmire and Police Chief J. Noe Diaz that required supervisory involvement when officers encountered individuals with federal administrative immigration warrants. Under that directive, ICE agents were given 30 minutes to arrive and take custody after a supervisor verified the warrant. 

However, the April ordinance became the subject of a dispute with Gov. Greg Abbott, who threatened to withhold approximately $114 million in state public safety funding from Houston over the city's restrictions on cooperation with ICE. City Council subsequently revised the measure, and HPD issued updated instructions requiring officers to contact ICE when encountering individuals with administrative immigration warrants. 

Whitmire issued a new executive order on Nov. 6 directing HPD to limit ICE contacts to situations in which an individual is already being taken to jail on new criminal charges or other warrants. The change reversed the department's previous practice of contacting ICE when officers encountered individuals with civil administrative immigration warrants. 

The newly introduced ordinance seeks to move those restrictions beyond the mayor's executive authority and establish them as part of Houston's city code.