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Dominic Anthony Walsh\/Houston Public Media<\/p>\n
Houston City Council member Alejandra Salinas, at podium, speaks on March 19, 2026, about a proposed city ordinance intended to reduce the number of calls about immigration warrants from the Houston Police Department to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.<\/p>\n
A proposal intended to cut back on coordination between the Houston Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must be revised, the city of Houston’s legal department found on Thursday. <\/p>\n
The proposal \u2014 spearheaded by city council members Alejandra Salinas, Abbie Kamin and Edward Pollard \u2014 would give HPD officers discretion over whether or not to notify ICE about civil immigration warrants. Under current policy, officers must contact ICE when they encounter “administrative warrants,” which unlike criminal warrants are issued by ICE and not signed by a judge or magistrate. <\/p>\n
The ordinance would also prohibit officers from detaining people or lengthening traffic stops solely because of an ICE administrative warrant. <\/p>\n
Sign up for the Hello, Houston!<\/a> daily newsletter to get local reports like this delivered directly to your inbox.<\/p>\n In its finding, the city\u2019s legal department argued officers are legally required to contact ICE about all immigration warrants, according to the three council members pushing for the change. <\/p>\n \u201cWe strongly disagree with this part of the opinion,\u201d Salinas, Pollard and Kamin said in a joint statement Friday. \u201cIt is out of step with other major Texas jurisdictions and without this provision, under current policy, Houston police are forced to go beyond what state law mandates \u2014 pulling officers away from patrol and straining resources.\u201d<\/p>\n They will revise the ordinance to remove officer discretion, Kamin told Houston Public Media. <\/p>\n \u201cTime is of the essence to bring an item forward that brings relief to local law enforcement that is already strained,\u201d Kamin said. \u201cIn addition to that, it\u2019s also to bring relief to the community that is extremely concerned right now.\u201d<\/p>\n City Attorney Arturo Michel did not respond to a request for comment. <\/p>\n In interviews with Houston Public Media, legal experts presented conflicting perspectives<\/a> on police officers\u2019 legal obligations during encounters with individuals who have administrative immigration warrants. <\/p>\n It’s unclear whether detaining someone because of an ICE administrative warrant violates the Fourth Amendment, which prohibits unreasonable searches and seizures. But the matter is further complicated by Senate Bill 4<\/a> \u2014 a law passed by the Texas Legislature in 2017 which outlawed local municipalities from curtailing police department collaboration with ICE.<\/p>\n Lucio Vasquez \/ Houston Public Media<\/p>\n Pictured is Houston City Attorney Arturo Michel at a city council meeting in 2021.<\/p>\n The finding from the city’s legal department posed a hurdle to a proposal long called for by civil rights advocates in Houston. Dozens of community members have called for changes to HPD policy at city council meetings over the past year, and the Houston chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America is organizing members to turn out at the public comment session slated for next Tuesday evening. <\/p>\n![\"Houston](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/DSC01903-4-1000x667.jpg\")
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