Houston mayor orders police to limit ICE cooperation after Democratic sweep

"I do this to begin a healing process," Whitmire said at a press conference, adding that the move was to "reduce fear and anxiety across our community." He said he was acting "knowing that elections matter."

The order means that people stopped for minor traffic violations will no longer be referred to ICE simply because an immigration warrant appears in a database. Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz said officers will only contact ICE if someone they arrest for a jailable offense also has an administrative ICE warrant. "If our police officers pull someone over for a minor traffic infraction and they write a citation, that person receives a citation and goes about their day," Diaz said.

The policy change follows months of public outcry over ICE operations in Houston. In July, an ICE agent fatally shot Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a 52-year-old Mexican national driving to work. In October, an ICE officer was indicted on an aggravated assault charge after allegedly striking a man with a vehicle. The Houston Chronicle reported that city police contacted ICE 107 times in the first eight months of 2025, compared with nine times in all of 2024.

Whitmire had previously resisted calls to limit cooperation over concerns that the White House could send a surge of immigration officials in response. Abbott had threatened to withhold $110 million in state public safety grants over a city council ordinance restricting ICE contacts. Abbott argued the ordinance violated Senate Bill 4, a 2017 state law that bars local police from limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Whitmire then ordered officers to contact ICE when they encountered someone with an administrative immigration warrant.

Tuesday's midterm elections reshaped Texas politics. Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Abbott to become the state's first Democratic governor since 1995, and the party won the attorney general's office and other statewide posts. Whitmire said he consulted with incoming state leaders before issuing the order and that he expects Houston's approach to become a model for other cities.

The Department of Homeland Security expressed disappointment, with a spokesperson saying “sanctuary politicians seek to limit cooperation with ICE” and that law enforcement partnerships are critical to having the resources to arrest criminal illegal aliens across the country. Houston Controller Chris Hollins, who had called for the change, described the order as “a promising first step” but said the mayor should have acted sooner. “ICE killing a man in our city and running over another wasn't enough to move the mayor,” Hollins said. Cesar Espinosa, executive director of the immigrant rights group FIEL Houston, said the policy was a victory but overdue. “Today Houston won,” he said.

Abbott remains governor until January, and the current attorney general has previously sued the city over the earlier ordinance. Whitmire said he took responsibility for making the change even with the current administration still in office.