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change came after Governor Greg Abbott’s office threatened to withhold $114 million in state grants unless the city rescinded the policy by April 20, 2026.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
