Houston Limits ICE Alerts to Jailable Offenses as Texas Democrats Sweep 2 Chambers
Updated
Updated · BBC.com · Nov 7
Houston Limits ICE Alerts to Jailable Offenses as Texas Democrats Sweep 2 Chambers
3 articles · Updated · BBC.com · Nov 7
Summary
Houston police will now contact ICE only when an arrest is for a jailable offense and the person also has an administrative immigration warrant, Mayor John Whitmire said in an executive order Friday.
The rollback follows months of outrage after an ICE officer fatally shot 52-year-old Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, with Whitmire saying the change is meant to reduce fear and begin a healing process.
Under the prior policy, officers had to notify ICE whenever a person they encountered appeared in the NCIC database with an administrative warrant, including during minor traffic stops that ended only in citations.
DHS criticized the move as a sanctuary-style limit on cooperation, while Whitmire urged Congress to tighten ICE training, body-camera use and de-escalation standards.
The shift breaks with defeated Republican Governor Greg Abbott's hardline approach and comes after Democrats won the House and Senate nationally and scored major statewide victories in Texas.
How will Houston manage public safety if the state withholds funding over the city's new ICE notification limits?
Could restricting police cooperation with federal immigration agents during minor traffic stops actually improve local safety by increasing community trust?