<\/p>\n
Mayor John Whitmire speaks to the media about the city\u2019s immigration policies, after reports that at least two officers violated policies by transporting people to ICE, during a news conference at HPD headquarters in Houston, Wednesday, March 11, 2026.<\/p>\n
Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Houston City Council members notched a win<\/a> this week in a process designed to give them more power in Houston\u2019s strong-mayor form of government, passing a proposal limiting how police work with federal immigration agents<\/a>.<\/p>\n But the process leading up to that 12-5 vote has some council members questioning whether Mayor John Whitmire\u2019s office has too much sway over the policies they pitch, and Council Member Alejandra Salinas is now calling on the city to revisit its rules for Proposition A, the charter amendment she used to advance the proposal.<\/p>\n Salinas, with Council Members Abbie Kamin and Edward Pollard, pitched the proposal<\/a> to undo a rule requiring officers to wait 30 minutes for federal agents to arrive when they stop someone with an administrative U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement warrant. The proposal also requires the Houston Police Department to make public reports to the council about ICE referrals.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n ICE PROPOSAL PASSES: Houston City Council approves proposal to limit HPD\u2019s ICE cooperation<\/a><\/p>\n Proposition A, which voters approved in 2023, was intended to help the council place items on the agenda, a power that typically rests only with the mayor. But rules passed by council require that each item be reviewed by the city legal department \u2013 which reports to the mayor. City attorneys determined a section of the council\u2019s ICE proposal that would\u2019ve given HPD officers discretion on whether to call ICE was illegal \u2013 even though Dallas and Austin have implemented similar policies without issue.<\/p>\n Salinas and Kamin have questioned that ruling, with Salinas noting the American Civil Liberties Union of Texas and the Texas Immigration Law Council backed their view that the proposal was lawful as submitted.<\/p>\n Whitmire for months fought attempts to limit HPD\u2019s ICE cooperation, repeatedly saying the city was following state and federal laws. He ultimately supported Wednesday\u2019s measure \u2013 without the discretion provision \u2013 saying he felt it codified existing policy.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cThere needs to be a thorough legal review of an item prior to it coming to council. That’s not being questioned,\u201d Kamin said. \u201cIt’s whether there is an independent legal determination, or whether this is all at the direction of the mayor.\u201d<\/p>\n Salinas added that \u201cthis experience demonstrates that council needs to revisit the rules\u201d for Proposition A. She also publicly asked the mayor to call a special hearing in hopes of getting the legal department to reconsider its decision.<\/p>\n Neither Whitmire nor City Attorney Arturo Michel returned requests for comment.\u00a0<\/p>\n Council Member Julian Ramirez, who has raised concerns about how the charter amendment should work in the past, said he didn\u2019t see any issue with the way the city\u2019s lawyers handled the ICE proposal.\u00a0<\/p>\n But he said there needs to be more discussion on the city\u2019s Proposition A rules, and said he sees value in the council having an independent attorney outside of the city legal department.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cIn theory, the city government is the client for the city attorney, but they work for the mayor,\u201d Ramirez said. \u201dAnd I have the greatest respect for (Michel), but you know that’s the way it works in reality.\u201d<\/p>\n A \u2018one-person veto\u2019<\/p>\n The way Proposition A should work \u2013 and whether existing policies violate its spirit of empowering the council \u2013 has been debated since it was passed in November 2023.<\/p>\n As the council decided the rules for how to pitch policy changes under the charter amendment, several members worried the mayor\u2019s office could use the city legal department to block proposals from advancing<\/a>.<\/p>\n