Mayor John Whitmire's Proposed Changes Could Erode New ICE Policy’s Effectiveness, Legal Experts Say Mayor John Whitmire and Houston Police Chief Noe Diaz addressed media concerns about police interactions with immigration agents following reports of officers violating policies by transporting individuals to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, during a March 11, 2026, news conference at HPD headquarters. The incident sparked a contentious debate over the city’s new ICE cooperation policy, which aimed to limit police interactions with immigration agents. The policy, which had been a point of contention between city and state leaders for nearly two weeks, eliminated a previous requirement for officers to wait 30 minutes for ICE officials to arrive when encountering someone with a civil immigration warrant. This change came after Governor Greg Abbott’s office threatened to withhold $114 million in state grants unless the city rescinded the policy by April 20, 2026. Abbott’s letter to Whitmire stated that the city was out of compliance with an agreement to receive grant funds, warning of potential repayment if the policy was not revoked. In response, Whitmire called for a special council meeting on April 17 to vote on rescinding the policy. However, after negotiations with state leaders, the deadline was extended to Wednesday, April 21. Instead of repealing the policy, Whitmire’s team proposed amendments to the original ordinance, aiming to balance compliance with state funding and local legal concerns. Legal experts criticized the amendments as weakening the policy’s effectiveness. Travis Fife, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, argued that the revised language risked allowing police to prolong detentions based solely on administrative warrants.#governor_greg_abbott #mayor_john_whitmire #houston_police_department #travis_fife #jennefer_canalespelaez
Wide Swath of the U.S. Faces Days of Severe Weather A major storm system is set to bring multiple days of severe weather across a large portion of the United States, with forecasters warning of significant risks through early next week. Friday is highlighted as one of the most dangerous days, with severe thunderstorms, large hail, damaging winds, flooding, and tornadoes expected to impact regions from Texas to the Great Lakes. The Storm Prediction Center has issued warnings that severe weather is likely each day for the next eight days, with Friday and Tuesday identified as the peak threat periods. Meteorologists attribute the severe conditions to a stalled weather front stretching across the Central United States, from the southern Plains to the Ohio Valley. This system is interacting with warm, moist air moving northward from the Gulf of Mexico, creating atmospheric instability that fuels severe thunderstorms. Enhanced risk warnings have been issued for Friday and Saturday, particularly in the southern and central Plains, including major cities such as Oklahoma City, Kansas City, Missouri, and Tulsa, Oklahoma. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott has activated emergency resources to prepare for the storm. Forecasters warn that some of the strongest storms could produce tornadoes, wind gusts exceeding 80 miles per hour, and hail larger than two inches in diameter. Repeated thunderstorms also pose a risk of flash flooding, with the Weather Prediction Center indicating rainfall totals of up to two inches possible. Heavier precipitation, ranging from three to five inches, is expected in parts of northern Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas on Thursday and Friday. Additional areas at risk include parts of Missouri, Kentucky, and southern portions of Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio.#tornadoes #national_weather_service #storm_prediction_center #weather_prediction_center #governor_greg_abbott
