Democrats’ open defiance of the current existing GOP order has begun in earnest all over the country.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire moved Friday to restrict police cooperation with federal immigration authorities, just days after Democrats swept Texas’ statewide elections.
The Democratic mayor signed an executive order limiting when Houston police officers can contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement about people encountered during routine police activity.
Whitmire acknowledged that Tuesday’s election results played a role in his decision.
“I do this to begin a healing process — reduce fear and anxiety across our community,” Whitmire said.
“I also do this knowing that elections matter,” he added, Fox News reported.
The announcement followed Democrat Gina Hinojosa’s victory over Republican Gov. Greg Abbott, whose administration had pressured Houston to cooperate with federal immigration enforcement.
Democrats also captured other statewide offices, while James Talarico won Texas’ U.S. Senate race.
Under Whitmire’s new directive, Houston police will generally contact ICE only when someone is arrested for a jailable offense and also has an administrative immigration warrant.
Officers conducting ordinary traffic stops will no longer notify ICE solely because the driver has an administrative immigration warrant.
“If our police officers pull someone over for a minor traffic infraction and they write a citation, that person receives the citation and goes about their day,” Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz said.
“HPD will no longer contact ICE if they have an administrative warrant and they are not arrested.”
Whitmire said the policy would allow Houston police to focus on immigrants who pose public-safety threats rather than people involved in minor encounters.
“It’s to reduce the fear and anxiety, not just in some of our communities but across Houston,” Whitmire said.
The move represents a reversal following months of pressure from Abbott.
Houston’s City Council previously attempted to restrict police cooperation with ICE, prompting Abbott to threaten approximately $110 million in state public-safety grants.
Abbott argued Houston’s earlier policy violated Texas Senate Bill 4, the state’s 2017 anti-sanctuary-city law requiring cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Houston subsequently revised its policy.
Police were instructed to contact ICE when encountering someone with an administrative immigration warrant and wait a “reasonable” period for federal agents to respond.
Administrative immigration warrants differ from criminal warrants because they are issued by immigration officials rather than judges and generally involve civil immigration violations.
Whitmire said Friday he understands his latest decision could carry consequences.
“I understand there’s risk,” Whitmire said. “I will take that risk and I know I’m doing right.”
The mayor also said he consulted with newly elected Democratic state officials before announcing the change.
The Department of Homeland Security quickly criticized Houston’s decision.
“We remain disappointed that sanctuary politicians seek to limit cooperation with ICE, as our law enforcement are simply fulfilling their sworn duties to serve and protect our communities,” a DHS spokesperson said.
Federal officials warned that limiting local cooperation could result in more visible ICE operations because agents would need to locate individuals in communities instead of receiving notifications from local police.
“The Supremacy Clause makes it clear that sanctuary politicians do not control federal law enforcement,” DHS said.
Whitmire’s executive order does not prevent ICE from independently conducting enforcement operations in Houston.
It instead restricts circumstances under which city police will proactively contact federal immigration officials.
Houston’s decision follows months of controversy surrounding ICE operations in the city.
Harris County District Attorney Sean Teare recently announced that an ICE agent had been indicted on an aggravated-assault charge involving an undocumented Mexican man.
Teare’s office has also investigated the July fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an immigration agent.
Immigration activists praised Whitmire’s announcement while arguing he should have acted earlier.
Houston Controller Chris Hollins called the decision “a promising first step” but criticized its timing.
“ICE killing a man in our city and running over another wasn’t enough to move the mayor,” Hollins said. “I’m glad an election was.”
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson also moved Friday toward revising his city’s policy involving ICE warrants following Abbott’s defeat.
“This is the right thing to do at the right time,” Whitmire said. “Quite frankly, this should be a nonpartisan issue.”
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author’s opinion.
