Overview
- Houston’s City Council, which approved the ordinance Wednesday in a 12–5 vote, won backing from Mayor John Whitmire who said it codifies existing police practice.
- The ordinance bars officers from detaining people based only on an ICE administrative warrant, which is a civil notice that is not issued by a judge.
- The measure ends HPD’s March directive to wait 30 minutes for ICE to arrive and requires release when no crime is suspected.
- Regular public reports will track HPD contacts with ICE after Chief Noe Diaz confirmed officers turned over 85 people to the agency in 2025.
- Council members used new Proposition A powers to advance the item after the city attorney removed a clause he said violated Texas law, as the police union and ICE opposed the move and the union later pulled its endorsement of the mayor.