Houston limits police cooperation with ICE

Houston Mayor John Whitmire signed an executive order Friday limiting the city's police cooperation with federal immigration agents.

The order instructs Houston police not to contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents when a person is detained for nonviolent offenses, such as a traffic stop.

Whitmire said the change was meant “to reduce the fear and anxiety, not just in some of our communities but across Houston.” He acknowledged the measure could carry political risks while Republican Governor Greg Abbott and other Republicans remain in power until January.

Abbott had threatened in April to revoke $110 million in public safety funding from Houston if city officials did not walk back a similar measure earlier this year, and the city complied. Abbott lost reelection on Tuesday and is set to be replaced by Democrat Gina Hinojosa, the first Latina woman elected governor of Texas.

ICE criticised the Houston order in a statement on X, saying some serious crimes can be classified as nonviolent offenses and accusing the mayor of supporting policies that protect criminals.

The Prison Policy Initiative, a nonpartisan think tank, said Texas had more arrests carried out by ICE agents during President Donald Trump's second term than any other state, with almost 137,000 recorded as of August 2026.

Syracuse University's Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse said Texas also had the highest number of ICE detainees in the United States, with more than 16,000 people held at various facilities.