<\/p>\n
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia speaks during a news conference at Houston City Hall in Houston on Friday, July 10, 2026, regarding the officer-involved shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a federal immigration enforcement operation and the detention of the two passengers who were in the vehicle with him.<\/p>\n
Raquel Natalicchio\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, said Wednesday that she disagrees with some of the ways Mayor John Whitmire has responded<\/a> to the presence of immigration agents in Houston during President Donald Trump\u2019s second term.<\/p>\n Houston police officers\u2019 limited cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents, coupled with the recent ICE killing of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo<\/a>, have made immigration enforcement one of the defining issues of Whitmire\u2019s tenure<\/a> and tested the broad supporter base he has developed over five decades in Houston politics.<\/p>\n Garcia, a longtime ally of Whitmire\u2019s, told the Houston Chronicle editorial board that while Whitmire has been \u201cvery supportive\u201d in the wake of Salgado\u2019s death, she disapproves of the city\u2019s approach to ICE administrative warrants<\/a>, which are not issued for criminal charges and are not signed by a judge.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n READ MORE:\u00a0Inside the collapse of Houston\u2019s ICE policy<\/a><\/p>\n Houston police have encountered hundreds of people with such warrants<\/a> since the start of Trump\u2019s term and alerted ICE to their presence, which Whitmire has argued is an unfortunate necessity, as state laws prohibit cities from adopting policies that ban cooperation with ICE.<\/p>\n Between April and June alone, Houston police called ICE on over 100 people with administrative warrants, nearly half of whom were encountered during a traffic stop, according to an\u00a0HPD report<\/a>. Nineteen of those people were turned over to ICE agents.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen he says \u2018we\u2019re not cooperating with ICE,\u2019 he means (Houston police) aren\u2019t out there enforcing and doing operational issues,\u201d Garcia told the editorial board. \u201cIn my view, he\u2019s not talking about the traffic stops, and he\u2019s doing the traffic stop thing and I disagree with him and we\u2019ve all talked to him about it.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Whitmire said in a statement that he is committed to working with Garcia and rest of the congressional delegation “to ensure there is a thorough and transparent investigation into the fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado. The public deserves answers, and accountability must follow the facts.”<\/p>\n Senate Bill 4\u00a0a sticking point<\/p>\n The mayor repeatedly has said the city is hamstrung by Senate Bill 4, the 2017 state law that bans cities from explicitly prohibiting cooperation with ICE.<\/p>\n The debate over the city\u2019s response<\/a> came to a head in April, when City Council passed an ordinance<\/a> requiring officers to detain someone only “as long as reasonably necessary to complete the legitimate purpose of the initial stop or investigation,\u201d without regard for any non-criminal immigration warrants they might have.<\/p>\n Whitmire voted in favor, but then led the effort to reverse it<\/a> two weeks later after Gov. Greg Abbott threatened to pull $114 million public safety funds from the city. Houston police have now reverted to their previous policy of waiting a \u201creasonable\u201d amount of time for ICE agents to pick up their targets.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Garcia told the editorial board she understands the \u201cbig stick\u201d that Abbott and Trump wield over cities like Houston, and filed a bill earlier this year<\/a> to repeal a federal law that requires local governments to let police share people\u2019s immigration status with federal authorities.<\/p>\n She said she disagreed with the city\u2019s interpretation of SB4, however. Austin and Dallas also amended their policies<\/a> on administrative warrants under pressure from the governor, but retained more flexible language. Austin\u2019s updated policy still makes clear that officers cannot detain someone on an administrative warrant alone, while Dallas’ simply does not prohibit officers from calling ICE.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cI debated that issue with the city attorney,\u201d Garcia said. \u201cI think it\u2019s just (different) interpretations by different cities, but SB4 should be repealed, period.\u201d<\/p>\n Whitmire noted that he voted against SB4 when he was in the Legislature, but said the city legal department has “conducted a thorough review of the statute and has concluded that the city of Houston is complying with the law as it currently stands.”<\/p>\n “My administration will continue to follow the law while advocating for policies that reflect our values and protect the people of Houston,\u201d the mayor said.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n TIMELINE: How Houston police’s ICE policy fight unfolded, from Whitmire’s promises to Abbott’s threats<\/a><\/p>\n Among Garcia\u2019s top concerns is the time HPD spends on calls involving people with administrative warrants. A recent Chronicle investigation<\/a> found calls involving ICE tie up officers far longer than an average traffic stop.<\/p>\n One man, who was deported to Honduras after Houston police turned him over to ICE in June, sued HPD this week<\/a> for allegedly detaining him for two hours, in violation of his Fourth Amendment rights. He had only a civil immigration warrant and allegedly faced no criminal charges.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cTo me that\u2019s just a really bad use of police officer time, especially if it\u2019s on an (immigration) detainer and not a freaking (criminal) warrant,\u201d Garcia said. \u00a0<\/p>\n Still, Garcia told the editorial board that Whitmire has been \u201caggressive, staying in touch and supportive\u201d as she helps lead efforts to get answers about Salgado\u2019s death, and that \u201cbig city mayors\u201d will always take heat on major issues because it\u2019s \u201cthe one place where people look.\u201d<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n