Houston limits police cooperation with ICE after Democrats win Texas midterms

A narrower role for police in ICE cases

On Friday, 6 November 2026, Mayor John Whitmire signed an executive order that changes how the Houston Police Department works with federal immigration agents. Under the directive, officers will contact ICE only when someone is arrested on an offense that carries possible jail time, and not during routine traffic stops or other low-level infractions. Police Chief Noe Diaz gave an example: a driver stopped for a minor traffic violation receives a citation and continues on their way. Officers will also stop contacting ICE when a person has an administrative warrant but is not under arrest. Copies of the order went out across the department, and officers will hear it read aloud at briefings on five consecutive days, with a reminder due in roughly a month. The two-page order adds that suspicion of a person's immigration status cannot by itself justify contacting ICE, extending a detention or taking anyone into custody.

Whitmire presented the change as a step toward easing fear in the city.

“I do this to begin a healing process, reduce fear and anxiety across our community.”

Why the mayor changed course

Whitmire had repeatedly resisted calls to restrict interactions between Houston police and ICE, citing the risk of angering Governor Greg Abbott and putting state funding at stake. In April, Abbott threatened to withdraw $110 million in grants from the city, which had earlier tried to limit cooperation with ICE, and local authorities backed down. Whitmire said he had to protect Houston's finances and public services, and he framed the new order as a return to local control. He said he was willing to face pushback from outgoing state leaders and from Washington. The decision followed Tuesday's midterm elections on 3 November 2026, in which Democrat Gina Hinojosa defeated Abbott in the race for governor and Democrat James Talarico won the Senate race. Speaking to The New York Times, Whitmire tied the decision directly to the vote.

“If they're charged with a new crime, we'll let ICE know as we get them to the jailhouse.”

Reactions and the ICE response

Houston City Controller Chris Hollins responded in a statement that the mayor had not been moved by an ICE killing and a vehicle strike, but had been moved by an election.

“ICE killing a man in our city and running over another wasn't enough to move the mayor. I'm glad an election was.”

Hollins called the move a promising first step. ICE's official account on X replied that the mayor was championing policies that would protect some of the worst criminals in the United States. Abbott's office had not responded to a request for comment, and ICE spokespersons did not immediately reply to a separate request for comment.

ICE enforcement in Texas

Texas led all US states in ICE arrests in 2026, with more than 60,000 people arrested there in July alone. In July, an ICE agent shot and killed a Mexican man during a traffic stop in Houston's Magnolia Park neighborhood, a killing that rattled residents. Reports said the agent was looking for other people at the time.

In October, an ICE agent struck a man with a car in Houston. In late October, a Harris County grand jury indicted ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales on an aggravated assault charge, and prosecutors allege he hit a man with his vehicle and broke the man's leg. Those cases came after two US citizens were shot dead by federal agents in Minneapolis in January, a 37-year-old mother and a male nurse of the same age, which sparked outrage across the country. Since Donald Trump returned to office, his administration has pursued an anti-immigration campaign that includes ICE raids in Texas, a state bordering Mexico, where the agency's methods are often judged brutal.