HOUSTON – On Wednesday, Houston City Council has passed an immigration ordinance that clarifies the city’s policy regarding when police contact ICE. The amended ordinance was filed by Houston City Council members Alejandra Salinas, Abbie Kamin, and Edward Pollard.
The policy passed 12-5.
“We have filed an ordinance that will empower HPD to focus on keeping families safe and rebuild trust through transparency,” said Salinas during a press conference on March 19.
First, the ordinance states that local police officers are not required to call ICE for civil administrative warrants. Second, the ordinance would ensure routine traffic stops end when the lawful reason for the stop ends. Third, the proposal increases transparency by requiring regular public reporting on how often HPD asks about immigration or contacts federal officials.
What will the immigration ordinance do?
The policy will end the 30-minute waiting rule for ICE, cutting down on unnecessary detention and exposure to ICE during routine stops.
It will also reinforce constitutional protections, making it clear HPD’s stops must end when their lawful purpose ends, not when ICE arrives.
The ordinance will add transparency by having regular public reporting on HPD’s interactions with ICE.
Councilmembers against the passage
The five council members who voted against the ordinance gave this statement:
Standing with HPD, we voted against the proposed Proposition A ordinance related to immigration policy and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The passage of this ordinance at today’s council meeting will likely have unintended and harmful consequences for Houston. While we all want policies that promote safety and fairness, we are particularly concerned that placing a national spotlight on our city will create unsafe situations for our community and exacerbate the pressure placed on law enforcement. We believe that this ordinance places onerous and arbitrary reporting requirements which are intended to influence HPD officers into exercising discretion in instances where an inquiry into immigration status may have otherwise occurred. In short, this ordinance will make officers afraid to do their jobs. Additionally, we have serious concerns about the uncertainty this creates for law enforcement. Without clear guidance on timeframes to wait for ICE, it creates confusion for our officers and opens the City of Houston to potential lawsuits. We remain committed to working on solutions that protect our community, uphold the law, and ensure Houston continues to be a safe place for all residents.
Houston police and immigration
The backstory:
In March, Houston Mayor John Whitmire and Police Chief Noe Diaz announced a directive governing how police officers handle federal administrative immigration warrants. Under the rule, a sergeant must be called to the scene to verify the warrant and oversee the interaction. Additionally, the department is now imposing a 30-minute “wait-clock” on federal authorities. If a supervisor confirms that an immigration warrant is valid, ICE agents must arrive at the scene within 30 minutes to take custody. If they do not, the individual must be released.
Unlike a judicial warrant, civil administrative warrants are not issued by a judge.
“Police aren’t held to standards beyond state law. That cannot be said about the city of Houston today,” said Salinas during the March press conference. “That needs to chance and this ordinance does exactly that.”
Salinas said the ordinance does not prevent cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
“When an officer makes a legal stop, warrant searches are required. This is standard and falls in line with public safety objectives,” said Council Member Abbie Kamin in March. “But what has happened is a rogue federal agency has been taking advantage of this.”
“ICE is using and abusing the role of local law enforcement in an attempt to co-op local officers as federal immigration and customs enforcement. That is not their job,” said Kamin.
“The Trump Administration is dumping what are called I quote ‘administrative warrants,’ which have no nexus to public safety, into the systems that our local law enforcement departments traditionally use to identify dangerous individuals that have outstanding criminal or judicial warrants,” said Kamin.
The Source: Reporter Jade Flury attended the City Council meeting.