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Houston's mayor orders police to limit cooperation with ICE
November 7, 2026
BBC reports that Abbott has also threatened to take pull millions in funds from cities like Houston, Dallas and Austin unless they allow police to cooperate fully with federal immigration officials.
According to The New York Times and NYT, the change in how Houston officers interact with immigration agents was a direct result of Tuesday’s election, Mr. Whitmire said. He added that the shift was “certainly consistent with the new leadership in Austin,” referring to the slate of Democrats elected to every major statewide position in Texas on Tuesday. “If they’re charged with a new crime, we’ll let ICE know as we get them to the jailhouse,” Mr. Whitmire said in an interview with The New York Times, The New York Times reports.
BBC reports that Abbott has also threatened to take pull millions in funds from cities like Houston, Dallas and Austin unless they allow police to cooperate fully with federal immigration officials. Mr. Abbott lost his bid for re-election to what would have been a record fourth term as governor, The New York Times reports. According to Al Jazeera, FIEL Houston, an immigrant rights group, called the order a victory for the city but said it was long overdue. “Today Houston won. Today our community can breathe easier,” FIEL Executive Director Cesar Espinosa said in a statement to KPRC.
According to The New York Times and NYT, Whitmire said, “We won’t have new leadership until January”.
According to The New York Times and NYT, the change in how Houston officers interact with immigration agents was a direct result of Tuesday’s election, Mr. Whitmire said. He added that the shift was “certainly consistent with the new leadership in Austin,” referring to the slate of Democrats elected to every major statewide position in Texas on Tuesday. “If they’re charged with a new crime, we’ll let ICE know as we get them to the jailhouse,” Mr. Whitmire said in an interview with The New York Times, The New York Times reports. Democrats won both the US Senate and House of Representatives in Tuesday's midterms, taking control of Congress for the rest of Donald Trump's presidency, BBC reports.
According to BBC, Houston police chief Noe Diaz said on Friday that officers will now only contact ICE if someone they arrest for a jailable offence also has an administrative ICE warrant, which are issued internally by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), within which ICE operates. Under the previous rules, Houston police officers were required to inform ICE if anyone they were dealing with came up as having one of these warrants attached to their name when they were searched on the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) - a digital database that includes records on wanted persons, stolen property, certain missing people and those arrested and fingerprinted for serious offences. Under an executive order from the mayor, Houston police officers will no longer alert ICE agents when they encounter an unauthorized migrant during routine traffic stops or in connection with other low level infractions, The New York Times reports. The move by John Whitmire, a Democrat, comes on the heels of stunning victories by the party in Texas during this week's midterm elections, BBC reports. Houston has been at the center of multiple confrontations with ICE officers this year, including, most recently, the indictment of an ICE officer who prosecutors say struck a Mexican immigrant without permanent legal status with his vehicle, The Hill reports. Houston previously passed an ordinance to limit police cooperation with federal immigration officers, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) opened an investigation into the move, accusing it of violating Texas Senate Bill 4, a law that prevents cities from taking up policies to limit immigration enforcement. According to The New York Times and NYT, Mayor John Whitmire of Houston said he was directing city police officers on November 6 to limit their cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement during traffic stops, bucking a policy imposed on Texas’s largest city by Gov. Greg Abbott.
According to The Hill, Whitmire said, “I do this to begin a healing process, reduce fear and anxiety across our community”.
Whitmire
Still developing
According to BBC, Houston police chief Noe Diaz said on Friday that officers will now only contact ICE if someone they arrest for a jailable offence also has an administrative ICE warrant, which are issued internally by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), within which ICE operates. Under the previous rules, Houston police officers were required to inform ICE if anyone they were dealing with came up as having one of these warrants attached to their name when they were searched on the National Crime Information Center (NCIC) - a digital database that includes records on wanted persons, stolen property, certain missing people and those arrested and fingerprinted for serious offences. Under an executive order from the mayor, Houston police officers will no longer alert ICE agents when they encounter an unauthorized migrant during routine traffic stops or in connection with other low level infractions, The New York Times reports.
How settled the reporting is
Sources
- BBC — Texas mayor instructs police to limit co-operation with ICE
- The Hill — Houston Mayor John Whitmire issues order to restrict ICE involvement in the city
- The New York Times — Houston Police to Stop Alerting ICE During Traffic Stops - The New York Times
- Al Jazeera — Houston mayor curbs cooperation of US city’s police with ICE | US Midterm Elections 2026 News | Al Jazeera
Toggle read the full reports of 6 of the 7 outlets counted on this event. The other 1 are counted from their headlines and opening sentences.