HOUSTON \u2013 Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has filed a lawsuit against the City of Houston over its recently passed ordinance that limits when the Houston Police Department can call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).<\/p>\n
Paxton called the ordinance a violation of Texas Senate Bill 4, a bill which was signed into law during the 2017 Legislative Session.<\/p>\n
Under Senate Bill 4, local entities cannot adopt, enforce, or endorse a policy that prohibits or materially limits the enforcement of federal immigration laws.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit is filed against the City of Houston, Mayor John Whitmire, Houston city councilmembers and others.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe Texas Legislature passed strong legislation that specifically stops the type of lawless ordinance that Houston adopted. Houston has no authority to ignore the Constitution and the laws duly enacted by the Legislature. I\u2019m calling on Houston to immediately repeal this ordinance,\u201d Paxton said.<\/p>\n
The lawsuit is the latest move over the city\u2019s ordinance.<\/p>\n
On Monday, Texas Governor Greg Abbott sent a letter to Houston Mayor John Whitmire, which states the city\u2019s ordinance violates an April 15, 2025 certification between the City of Houston and the Public Safety Office of the Governor (PSO), which states the city would \u201cparticipate fully\u2026 in all aspects of the programs and procedures utilized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security,\u201d including notifying DHS of requested information regarding undocumented immigrants in HPD custody and detaining such individuals in accordance with DHS requests.<\/p>\n
The state called the ordinance a breach of that certification and warned it \u201cimperils all grant agreements between the City and PSO for Fiscal Year 2026. <\/p>\n