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Mayor John Whitmire speaks to the media about the city\u2019s immigration policies after reports that at least two officers violated policy by transporting people direct to ICE agents in March 2026.<\/p>\n
Brett Coomer\/Houston Chronicle<\/p>\n
Mayor John Whitmire\u2019s administration applied for a $150 million grant from a controversial federal program last month, unbeknownst to city council members and residents who have raised concerns that the funding might force the city to more closely cooperate with federal immigration authorities.<\/p>\n
Houston\u2019s bid for the Model Cities Initiative, run by the U.S. Department of Justice, was pulled twice from the council agenda last month as\u00a0Whitmire said his office was pressing the DOJ to clarify the program\u2019s guidelines. The council already has spent months this year debating<\/a> the role Houston police play<\/a> in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement<\/a> actions.\u00a0<\/p>\n But the grant application had been submitted weeks before.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n READ MORE: New report reveals how often Houston police turned people over to ICE<\/a><\/p>\n Council Member Amy Peck, who chairs the city\u2019s public safety committee, said the mayor\u2019s staff told her the city had applied and would seek council approval if the funding comes through.<\/p>\n At least three other council members said they were unaware of the city\u2019s submission. Two said they thought the Whitmire administration had backtracked on applying, especially after his office told Houston Public Media<\/a> last week that the city was \u201cnot taking any action\u2026 at this time\u201d on the grant.<\/p>\n The mayor\u2019s office confirmed the submission Monday, saying officials did so to comply with the\u00a0DOJ’s Sept.1 application deadline.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n \u201cWe applied in partnership with several nonprofit agencies and other governmental agencies with the purpose of supporting our homelessness efforts, reducing violent crime, and other important issues like domestic violence,\u201d Whitmire said in a statement.<\/p>\n \u201cIf the grant imposes conditions that entail enforcement of immigration laws as part of this funding,\u201d Whitmire added, \u201cthe city may decline such funding and withdraw the application.\u201d<\/p>\n DOJ officials, who unveiled the program in June<\/a> as part of President Donald Trump\u2019s \u201cMake America Safe Again\u201d agenda, said they expected to select two to four cities to \u201csupercharge\u201d local police efforts and tamp down violent crime.\u00a0<\/p>\n READ MORE: Houston vowed to curb ICE cooperation. Police still waited hours for agents.<\/a><\/p>\n The city has applied for federal grants without council approval in the past. But the prospect of inviting more scrutiny on the city\u2019s relationship with ICE has driven unusual concern over the Model Cities program.<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n Council Member Joaquin Martinez said he was \u201cdefinitely a no\u201d if the funding is granted and reaches a council vote, in part informed by the city\u2019s experience earlier this year, when Gov. Greg Abbott responded to the council limiting HPD\u2019s cooperation with the ICE by\u00a0threatening to pull state grant funding<\/a>, leading the council to repeal the policy.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThis would be giving the federal government a hold on us,\u201d Martinez said.<\/p>\n Read more:\u00a0Inside the collapse of Houston\u2019s ICE policy<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cA modern law and order model\u201d<\/p>\n Discussion of the Model Cities program has dominated the council\u2019s weekly public comment sessions since the program first appeared on the Sept. 15 agenda, with most speakers in opposition.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n The item was pulled from that meeting as well as the subsequent one as the city awaited answers from the DOJ, though Whitmire expressed confidence that the program would require \u201cnot anything more than what we\u2019re doing now.\u201d<\/p>\n The DOJ\u2019s program rules state that applicants \u201cmust ensure that their initiatives align\u201d with various federal priorities such as \u201cdirectly supporting law enforcement operations (including immigration law enforcement operations).\u201d<\/p>\n HPD policy currently requires officers to contact ICE when they encounter someone with a civil immigration warrant, then wait a\u00a0 “reasonable amount of time” for federal agents to arrive. From April through June, Houston police encountered 103 people with civil immigration warrants, mostly during traffic stops. Nineteen of them were taken into ICE custody<\/a>.<\/p>\n Read more: ICE arrests witness in active Houston Police Department shooting investigation<\/a><\/p>\n Houston\u2019s chances of receiving a grant from the program, which has a total $300 million in funding, are still unclear. Two other cities \u2013 Jackson, Mississippi<\/a> and Pueblo, Colorado<\/a> \u2014 were notified last week that they had moved on to \u201cround two\u201d of their applications for $125 million and $100 million, respectively.\u00a0<\/p>\n Article continues below this ad<\/p>\n