Houston Mayor John Whitmire signed an executive order on Friday that substantially restricts the city’s police department from cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The directive comes in the aftermath of Democratic victories in statewide Texas elections, which Whitmire indicated influenced his decision to reverse course on immigration enforcement policies.
Under the new guidelines, Houston police will only contact ICE when individuals are arrested for jailable offenses. The policy eliminates previous practices that resulted in ICE referrals for individuals stopped on minor traffic violations who possessed administrative immigration warrants. Whitmire stated he had coordinated with Texas’s newly elected governor, lieutenant governor, and comptroller before implementing the order. Police Chief J Noe Diaz announced support for the change and confirmed his department had begun enforcing the new procedures.
This decision reverses a policy Whitmire adopted in April, which he had implemented under pressure from then-Governor Greg Abbott. Abbott had threatened to withhold approximately $110 million in state public safety funding, claiming that a city council ordinance limiting police-ICE cooperation violated Senate Bill 4, a 2017 state statute prohibiting local authorities from restricting engagement with federal immigration officials. Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton had also initiated legal action against Whitmire, the city council, and the police chief regarding the ordinance.
Data showed a dramatic increase in police contacts with ICE, with the Houston Police Department initiating at least 107 such contacts during the first eight months of 2025, compared to nine for the entirety of 2024. Immigrant advocacy organizations characterized the executive order as overdue relief for the community. Following Houston’s action, Austin’s mayor requested that city officials review their own policies regarding ICE warrant procedures.
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