Good.
Alejandra Salinas
Houston City Council approved a proposal from three city council members limiting Houston police officers’ cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on Wednesday, with Mayor John Whitmire in support.
The proposal by Council Members Alejandra Salinas, Edward Pollard and Abbie Kamin eliminates a requirement that officers wait 30 minutes for federal agents to pick people up on non-criminal ICE administrative warrants, and requires police leaders to compile reports on the department’s cooperation with ICE.
The proposal passed 12-5, with conservative Council Members Amy Peck, Fred Flickinger, Mary Nan Huffman, Willie Davis and Twila Carter opposed.
The item erases a policy change Whitmire and Police Chief Noe Diaz announced just a few weeks ago after the Houston Chronicle reported that HPD officers in at least two cases had transported drivers to ICE agents, despite ICE administrative warrants being civil documents that do not on their own give officers the authority to make arrests.
Whitmire’s policy tweak said officers should wait 30 minutes for an ICE agent to pick up a person detained with a civil ICE warrant, and said the officer should call their sergeant to the scene.
Salinas, Kamin and Pollard felt that change didn’t sufficiently limit how the Houston Police Department works with ICE, and filed their proposed ordinance under Proposition A, a 2023 city charter amendment that allows any three council members to add an item to a meeting agenda as long as it’s legal. The charter typically gives only the mayor the power to place items on the agenda.
[…]
Several council members spoke in favor of the proposal before its passage Wednesday.
“The current federal immigration dragnet and HPD policies are putting officers in an impossible situation,” said Council Member Julian Ramirez. “Following policies, they’ve called ICE on a battered woman, on a woman stranded at Hobby Airport, and on a woman who flagged down officers on Washington Avenue to report a crash.”
Ramirez said he supported the initiative because he’d learned during his time as a prosecutor that officers often need undocumented immigrants to help put criminals behind bars. He added the ordinance would make everyone safer and that effective law enforcement relied on the public’s trust.
“Do we want to have the most effective force possible to enforce serious state crimes and city ordinances, one the immigrant community trusts, or do we want a deportation force that enforces federal rule violations? Because you can’t have both,” Ramirez said. “I know which one I want.”
[…]
Ahead of Wednesday’s vote, Salinas emphasized the discussion wouldn’t be the council’s last on the issue, saying her office would continue to push back on the legal opinion that removed the proposal’s attempt to give HPD officers discretion in when to call ICE.
See here and here for the background. I’m glad this happened – major kudos to CMs Salinas, Kamin, and Pollard for putting it forward – and I’m glad that everyone who should have voted for it did so. I agree with CM Salinas that there is more to do on this, and I look forward to further efforts. Houston Public Media has more.
UPDATE: My, my, my.
In a stinging loss of a staunch ally, Houston Mayor John Whitmire will not receive the Houston Police Officers’ Union’s endorsement because he voted for an ordinance limiting the police department’s coordination with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on Wednesday.
“I was blown away by that because originally he was with us and thought it was a horrible idea,” union president Douglas Griffith told Houston Public Media. “All we want to do is go out and do our jobs as police officers. We don’t care about the politics. But then, when the mayor signed off on it, it blew me away. I don’t support any of them that supported this. I just don’t. And moving forward, I will not support them.”
During the city council meeting Wednesday morning, Whitmire voted in favor of a measure prohibiting officers from detaining or prolonging traffic stops due to civil immigration warrants.
[…]
“I think it’s potentially a rash overreaction by the police officers’ union,” said political scientist Mark Jones with Rice University. “Clearly, they oppose this adopted policy, but also Mayor Whitmire has been probably more in sync with them in terms of law enforcement than any mayor in recent memory.”
Looking ahead to the next round of municipal elections, Jones said, “The police officers’ union may very well find itself in 2027 with a situation where, among the credible alternatives to be mayor, John Whitmire is the one who is closest to them on policies regardless of this one difference today.”
I agree with Mark Jones. Does the HPOU really think they’re going to get someone friendlier to them as Mayor than John Whitmire? Good luck with that.
In a city that’s 46% Hispanic, it angers me that a reactionary police union would cling to a hateful agenda by an out-of-control federal agency. That it cares so little about how it’s perceived is telling. It’s kind of the Texas way “do it my way or we’ll punish you.” I wonder how the minority police officers feel about their MAGA leadership. I find them repulsive.
@Bayard.. Wet that finger and stick it into the wind.
From the AI Overlord:
Texas Hispanics are shifting toward the Republican Party, driven by economic concerns, border security, and conservative social values, with notable gains for the GOP in South Texas. While Democrats still retain a significant portion of the vote, Republican identification grew from 31.7% to 37.1% (2012–2022), creating a swing-vote demographic.
Key Trends in Texas Hispanic Voting Behavior~
South Texas Shift: Rio Grande Valley counties have swung heavily towards Republicans, with Zapata County shifting from deep blue to supporting Donald Trump in 2020 and 2024.
Declining Democratic Dominance: Democratic identification among Texas Hispanics fell from 58.3% in 2012 to 50% in 2022, with more voters identifying as Independents.
Key Drivers: Support for Republicans is often driven by “kitchen table” issues like inflation, rising costs, and a preference for stricter border security.
Political Realignment: Republican efforts have targeted rural and border Hispanic communities, arguing for conservative stances on life, LGBTQ+, and fiscal issues.
2026 Shift: While GOP gains are significant, recent 2026 data shows some reversal, with Latino turnout for Democrats in special elections indicating the voting bloc remains competitive rather than firmly Republican.
Demographic and Regional Factors~
Generational Shifts: A new, younger generation of Latino leaders in areas like Hidalgo County is actively promoting conservative politics.
Urban vs. Rural: While rural South Texas has moved right, Hispanic voters in urban areas like North Texas (Tarrant County) have shown a counter-trend, moving toward Democrats in 2026.
Economic Factors: A majority of Texas Latinos polled in 2025 expressed concerns over economic security, with 37% viewing the Republican Party as a viable alternative for managing the economy.