Houston Mayor John Whitmire (D) announced an executive order Friday restricting when city police contact federal immigration authorities, reversing an earlier policy days after Democrats won Texas’ top statewide offices.
“I also do this knowing that elections matter,” Whitmire said at a November 6 news conference, according to KPRC 2’s firsthand coverage.
The mayor said the election results influenced his decision. The change follows Democratic victories that The Dallas Express previously covered, including Gina Hinojosa’s defeat of Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
Whitmire said the change would reduce fear and anxiety in the community. Police Chief J. Noe Diaz said officers began implementing the revised instructions Friday. The city’s directive does not restrict federal agents’ independent enforcement authority.
In a statement on X, the Houston Mayor’s Office described the order as directing HPD to “no longer contact ICE for nonviolent offences.”
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement replied on the platform: “Watching child porn and selling heroin are classified as ‘nonviolent offenses’ by the way. This is the Mayor of Houston directly advocating for policies that protect some of the worst criminals in America.”
Watching child porn and selling heroin are classified as “nonviolent offenses” by the way.
This is the Mayor of Houston directly advocating for policies that protect some of the worst criminals in America. https://t.co/8CjLL32yHT
— U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (@ICEgov) November 6, 2026
A Reversal After The $114 Million Funding Fight
The policy reverses procedures Houston adopted during an earlier dispute with Texas officials over immigration enforcement and state public-safety money.
HPD’s April 23 directive required officers who encountered an ICE administrative warrant in the National Crime Information Center database to contact ICE’s Law Enforcement Support Center.
The directive required a sergeant at the scene and instructed officers to verify warrants and identities through ICE. Officers could wait a reasonable amount of time for agents to arrive if ICE requested custody, but HPD prohibited officers from transporting someone solely on an administrative ICE warrant.
The mayor’s office confirmed April 23 that Houston and Abbott’s office had reviewed the directive and found it consistent with the amended city ordinance and state grant requirements. Whitmire said the changes would allow Houston to recover $114 million in state public-safety funding.
Friday’s reversal raises questions about whether the state could renew its earlier objections, but the announcement does not establish that Houston has forfeited those grants.
Texas’ Anti-Sanctuary Law Remains In Effect
Texas Government Code Section 752.053 prohibits local governments from adopting policies that prohibit or materially limit immigration-law enforcement. The law also restricts policies that prevent officers from sharing immigration-status information or cooperating with federal immigration authorities in specified circumstances.
The statute does not explicitly require officers to notify ICE after every administrative-warrant database hit. Whether Houston’s new policy conflicts with state law depends on its exact terms and implementation.
State law authorizes the Texas attorney general to seek court intervention in qualifying cases and provides civil penalties for intentional violations that a court establishes. Texas’ election results have not repealed those provisions, and Abbott remains governor until his successor takes office.
Under Houston’s new approach, officers will continue taking people arrested on local charges into the jail system, where federal authorities can pursue immigration enforcement separately.
