Houston Mayor John Whitmire announced Friday that the city would restrict its cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement, days after Democrats swept Texas’ statewide offices in the midterm elections. The Democratic mayor linked the decision to both concerns in the community and the changes voters had made in state leadership.
Whitmire said his executive order covers nonviolent criminals, who would receive citations and be released. Under the policy, the city would not notify ICE about a person with an outstanding immigration warrant unless that person was arrested for an offense. He described the move as an effort to help the community heal and ease residents’ fear and anxiety.
The announcement followed several confrontations involving ICE officers in Houston this year. Most recently, an officer was indicted after prosecutors alleged that he struck a Mexican immigrant who lacked permanent legal status with his vehicle. In July, ICE officers fatally shot a Mexican man who had lived in the United States for 35 years. Ahead of the election, some people in Texas placed voting stickers at his memorial.
Houston had previously adopted an ordinance restricting cooperation between local police and federal immigration officers. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, a Republican, responded by opening an investigation. He accused the city of violating Senate Bill 4, the Texas law barring cities from adopting policies that limit immigration enforcement.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott subsequently threatened to withhold $110 million in public safety funding if Houston did not repeal the ordinance. The city ultimately repealed it. Both Abbott and Paxton suffered election defeats Tuesday, as Democrats secured a significant shift in political power across the state.
Paxton had already decided to leave the attorney general’s office to pursue a Senate seat. Democratic state Rep. James Talarico defeated him by 12 points, while the Republican candidate seeking to succeed Paxton as attorney general also lost. Abbott lost the governor’s race to Democratic state Rep. Gina Hinojosa.
Whitmire said the election results helped shape his decision. He said he had spoken with newly elected statewide officials and understood that enforcing Senate Bill 4 was not among their priorities. His announcement placed the city’s renewed limits on ICE cooperation in the context of that changing leadership.
Abbott spent billions on border security during former President Biden’s time in office. Hinojosa has criticized that operation as political theater and said she would review it. Democrats also won control of the Texas House, but Republicans will retain their majority in the state Senate, limiting Democrats’ ability to fully reverse some Republican policies.
