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It wasn’t exactly shocking when Mayor John Whitmire confirmed last week that Houston police officers have been cooperating with Immigration and Customs Enforcement but it opened up a conversation about whether city officials have the authority to push back — and what’s at stake if they stay silent.
Many suspected that HPD was passing information to federal agents — although Whitmire has quibbled over the terms “cooperation” and “collaboration” — and others said they were certain of it, producing HPD call logs to back up their claims. It’s a major reason some members of the Harris County Democratic Party are attempting to admonish the mayor, meaning they won’t endorse him in a bid for re-election.
Whitmire last week repeated what he’s been saying for months: The officers of the Houston Police Department are not actively trying to deport people and they don’t inquire about immigration status, but when they identify an active warrant, they notify the agency that issued it, as required by law.
The procedures that were put in place during the Biden presidential administration and have been carried out by previous Houston mayors and the Harris County Sheriff’s Department, said Whitmire, who was elected in December 2023.
“We have no greater responsibility as elected officials than to comfort our community, all communities,” he said in a November 12 city council meeting. “I ran to unite Houstonians, and we’ve been successful. I’m alarmed this morning over the rhetoric in the last 48 hours by, quite frankly, some individuals that I thought I knew better. I would urge us to get back to the facts and quit alarming people unnecessarily and quit politicizing an emotional issue.”
Whitmire’s original comment — “I’m not going to say that we’re not cooperating with ICE because that’s frankly not true” — prompted a firestorm of backlash from the men and women who set policy with the mayor twice a week and don’t want their constituents to feel unsafe in Houston.
Councilman Mario Castillo, who represents Near Northside and portions of downtown and Houston Heights, issued a statement saying he would pause his district’s allocations for HPD overtime requests until he has assurance that those dollars aren’t supporting HPD and ICE coordination. Castillo’s grandfather was an immigrant, according to the council member’s bio.
Castillo told the Houston Press on Sunday that he asked for transparency, and he got the information he needed when the president of the Houston Police Officers Union explained local law enforcement procedures during last week’s council meeting.
“That reassurance was really important to me,” he said. “That’s why I said what I said. Transparency, clarity and public trust need to be maintained if we’re going to have public safety.”
Castillo walked back, at least for now, the threat to withhold overtime pay but acknowledged that Houstonians are anxious and confused by headlines declaring that the mayor says he’s working with ICE.
“It raised a lot of questions,” he said. “It brought the anxiety up. To me, it was something that jeopardized the public’s trust with law enforcement, and that’s concerning, because we know how vital it is to have public trust with our local law enforcement, which is why I asked for more transparency and clarity around what that meant.”
Asking for clarity isn’t politicizing the issue, Castillo said. It was simply an effort to reassure fearful residents that they can call the police department when they’re in need.
During the public comments portion of the November 12 meeting, resident Adriana Tellez said the Mexican community is hurting. Being undocumented is a civil, not criminal offense, Tellez said, and Houston depends on immigrants for its labor force.
“You have told people that ICE operations in Houston only target people with criminal records, and that is not true,” Tellez said to the mayor. “We have seen mothers and fathers with no warrants, with no criminal records, dragged out of their cars in front of their children. We have witnessed bounty hunters posing as federal agents storming our neighborhoods and arresting citizens and undocumented residents.”
Such action is deplorable, many elected officials agreed, but they said it’s not initiated by HPD.
Doug Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officers Union, said that when an officer intends to arrest someone after a traffic stop or service call, they run a background check through the National Crime Information Center database, a procedure required by law.
“If they are wanted by any agency, no matter who it is, then we have to contact that agency and see if they want them,” Griffith said. “That goes for ICE or the FBI.”
“Do we drive around looking for people to see if they have an ICE detainer? No,” he added. “We don’t have the manpower for that. We are still 1,500 officers down. That is not our job. We’re not working with ICE. We don’t care about ICE. They have their own job function, whether you agree or disagree.”
City Attorney Arturo Michel said Houston officials could be held liable “both civilly and criminally” if they attempt to end the existing coordination with ICE because state law prohibits such action.
A July survey conducted by Texas Southern University showed that 95 percent of respondents believe immigrants living in the country illegally who commit violent crimes should be deported. Several council members said last week that the current conversation isn’t about whether violent criminals should be deported.
While there appears to be disdain for the strong presence of federal agents in Houston, there’s not much the city council can do about it, said At-Large Councilman Julian Ramirez, an attorney who was elected in December 2023 on a public safety platform.
“Can we legally limit ICE’s authority to enforce immigration laws in the city? No. Can we take a look and offer input and suggestions? Not necessarily in an official capacity, but I think individual council members can do that,” Ramirez said. “It’s hard to discern what’s going on with ICE. There are anecdotes that we hear, but I don’t think that ICE is sharing a lot of information on what their actions are. At least they’re not reaching me. I think change will happen when the federal government recognizes the economic consequences of mass deportation.”
Ramirez and his chief of staff Leah Wolfthal created Bringing Houston Together, an initiative to foster dialogue and communication among people with differing opinions. The pair hosted an event in July that focused solely on immigration and met again last week, joining forces with Council Member Sallie Alcorn, to talk with residents about immigration and free speech.
Ramirez said he asked the city’s legal department why HPD was referring administrative warrants to ICE when they’re issued by immigration personnel rather than judges. He said he was referred to Senate Bill 4, signed into law in 2017, which prohibits “sanctuary cities” and limits what municipalities can do when it comes to setting policies.
“My understanding is that SB 4 prevents the city from enacting policies that protect immigrants from ICE,” Ramirez said. “It was litigated and the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals kept SB 4 in place. It was never overturned, and as a city, we’re constrained to follow SB 4.”
The council member told the Press he doesn’t think the city has done a good job of explaining that. Additionally, he said, few people are talking about the potential repercussions of not cooperating with the federal government. It could result in the loss of hundreds of millions in funding for things like disaster relief, he said.
There are significant concerns not just from the immigrant community but that Houston could stop growing and the economy could tank if mass deportation continues, Ramirez said. He added that he’s had private conversations with federal officials who indicate that ICE’s current approach could be scaled back after the March 2026 primaries.
“If you want to change immigration policy, the federal government has the authority to do that,” he said. “There’s not a whole lot that the city can do.”
Council Member Abbie Kamin, who is reportedly gathering support to become the next interim county attorney if current office-holder Christian Menefee is elected to Congressional District 18, said legal residents are being denied due process.
“I trust HPD,” Kamin said. “Regardless of immigration status, if someone poses a public safety risk to our community, it is local law enforcement’s job to enforce our laws, and I have faith in them to do that. We are grappling now as a city where we are seeing something horrific taking place. For many, there are warrantless searches that are occurring. There are stops that are occurring that include racial profiling.”
Griffith, the union leader, pointed out that ICE agents are federal law enforcement officers. He cautioned against the narrative that we must “fight” against them. Kamin said no one is advocating for assaulting a police officer.
“When people say fight, what they’re talking about is protecting the community that is under assault right now,” she said, adding that there appears to be a sentiment of, “give them what they want so we can avoid a heavier hand.”
“We cannot throw Houston families under the bus on a hope or a prayer that it will prevent a heavier hand,” she said. “The stories and the images that we are seeing are inhumane. They are heart-wrenching. They are traumatizing children. The conditions in which they are being kept are also inhumane.”
Kamin referenced a recent lawsuit in which Attorney General Ken Paxton alleged the Harris County Commissioners Court violated the Texas Constitution by funding organizations that provide legal services for undocumented persons.
“Mayor, you said it shouldn’t be political,” Kamin said. “This is about protection. Political is the cheap shots like Attorney General Paxton just made, filing a lawsuit against the county on drummed-up charges and grounds that are absolutely absurd when the county steps up to provide funding for the legal defense of children.”
Councilman Joaquin Martinez said his next-door neighbor, a man who had no criminal history, was recently deported to El Salvador. The man’s wife reached out to Martinez, and he said it’s been one of the “heaviest” things he’s dealt with as a council member. He said his mother lived in Houston for 40 years and was not a U.S. citizen. “This is personal to me,” he said.
“I challenge folks who have privilege, who have a voice, to be thoughtful, take a few steps back and think about the folks who are getting deported who are not criminals,” he said. “What ICE is doing is disgusting. I think everyone can agree to that. At what point do we, especially in these positions, provide some peace in this chaos or do we continue to inflame these conversations?”
He said he believed and trusted that the mayor and Houston police are following the law.
While Whitmire’s narrative has shifted into, “Don’t blame HPD for following the law,” one city council hopeful is campaigning on the premise that Houston officials should explore all options.
Alejandra Salinas, a candidate for the At-Large Place 4 City Council seat, said council members can pass ordinances to try to protect the community.
“We can try to work with the mayor and police department to try to figure out what options we have under state law,” she said. “I think we should be asking those questions. Some states have passed laws that say ICE can’t go into certain spaces like churches and hospitals without Article 3 warrants. Where can we fight back and bring litigation against the state and federal government to protect our communities in Houston?”
“I think we need to have all the options on the table because what’s happening is frankly un-American,” she added. “There’s nothing wrong with going after violent criminals, but that’s not what’s happening right now.”
Salinas is facing former Houston Councilman Dwight Boykins in a December 13 runoff election. Boykins hasn’t said much about immigration on the campaign trail, focusing on public safety and infrastructure as his top priorities.
However, during an October candidate forum, Boykins said he would be strongly opposed if he became aware that Houston police were using city resources to separate families. At the same forum, hosted by Houston Progressive Caucus, Boykins said he didn’t believe Whitmire had taken any actions that needed to be undone.
Over in southwest Houston, retired Cypress-Fairbanks ISD police officer Ramon Hernandez said his neighbors are scared, “whether they’re documented or not.” Hernandez told the Press that officers have discretion when determining whether to send someone on their way with a warning if an administrative warrant is flagged.
“You do have to follow the law,” Hernandez said. “The question is, what is the law? There’s always going to be cooperation, but what is mandatory? Texas police officers have a lot of discretion, especially when it comes to warrants. When a warrant pops up on the person you stopped, the next step is to confirm. Those officers can choose to confirm or not confirm. If it’s a Class C [misdemeanor], they’re probably going to give a verbal warning.”
Texas Rep. Christina Morales, D-Houston, hosted a fundraiser for Salinas on Sunday and has called for transparency and accountability around the immigration issue. The state rep held a press conference outside a Houston-area Home Depot last week and said that immigrant families “deserve safety, dignity and trust, not fear, raids and silence.”
Whitmire said he’s met with Democratic Congresswoman Sylvia Garcia to build consensus and express concerns in Washington, D.C., and with Sen. Carol Alvarado, D-Houston, at the state level.
“We are a city of immigrants. We know that; it’s our strength,” he said.
The mayor scoffed at “clickbait” headlines that Houston police officers called ICE more than 100 times this year to alert the agency of people who had active immigration warrants, compared to nine times last year. He said that of those nine calls last year, “ICE showed up for three.”
“HPD, under the leadership of Chief [Noe] Diaz, has done a professional job,” he said. “It’s a complex issue. I’ve been on surges at the after-hours clubs. Fifty or 100 immigrants will pour out of a club at 4 in the morning. No one with HPD inquires as to their immigration status. Individuals are checked for drugs and firearms and then sent home. When people are pulled over, they’re never asked about their immigration status. That has been the policy since day one.”
The mayor added that he gets calls from across the nation about how Houston has managed to “not escalate matters.” He questioned why people are badmouthing him and HPD over such a sensitive issue when they’re not attacking the Harris County Sheriff’s Office, which follows the same protocols.
“You’re harming the community that we’re all committed to serve and comfort,” he said. “When people see social media or clickbait that says HPD is doing this wrong and involved in the enforcement of immigration and ICE laws, we know factually it’s wrong. There’s not one scintilla of evidence to demonstrate that.”
This article appears in Jan 1 – Dec 31, 2025.
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April Towery
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