- 1Houston Mayor John Whitmire signed an order Friday directing police to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, AP reported.
- 2Whitmire said the city would focus on immigrants who "pose a danger."
- 3AP said it is one of the first actions to restrict ICE since Tuesday's midterm elections.
- 4The Guardian reported ICE agents killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a July traffic stop in Houston.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire on Friday directed city police to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, according to the Associated Press, carried by PBS News, and the Guardian. Whitmire, a Democrat, called the order a direct result of Democrats reclaiming power in Texas for the first time in decades, AP reported.
Houston is the nation's fourth-largest city, per AP. The order is one of the first local moves to restrict ICE since the midterms, in a state where Republican leaders have backed President Donald Trump's deportation agenda, AP reported.
What the mayor said
Whitmire said the city would go after immigrants "that pose a danger, not those that are going about their family business, work and education." On traffic incidents, he said: "You write a citation or you warn them and they go about their way." The Guardian quoted him describing "No contact with [Immigration and Customs Enforcement] over nonviolent, non-jailable offenses." He also called the approach "a new model" of enforcement, the Guardian reported.
AP described the step in the nation's fourth-largest city as one of the first actions to restrict U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations since Tuesday's midterm elections. AP also reported that Democrat Gina Hinojosa ousted Republican Gov. Greg Abbott.
Background and open questions
The Guardian reported that in July, ICE agents shot and killed Lorenzo Salgado Araujo during a traffic stop in Houston, reportedly while looking for other individuals. Under the directive, Houston police should contact ICE only if the person stopped is arrested on a jailable charge or if ICE issues an administrative warrant, AP reported. Al Jazeera, citing Reuters, said the order reverses a policy Whitmire put in place in April under pressure from outgoing Gov. Greg Abbott, who had threatened to withdraw about $110 million in state public safety grants. The sources reviewed do not include the full text of the order or any response from federal officials or Texas Republican leaders.
Sources
PBS News (Associated Press), the Guardian, Al Jazeera and The Hill.
Reported from 3 published sources (PBS News, the Guardian, thehill.com). Facts, figures and quotes come only from those sources. Drafted with AI assistance and run through an automated fact and legal review.
Alex Carter is the senior geopolitics editor of the U.S. edition of Oppositioner. He covers geopolitics, elections and institutional conflict, with a focus on Europe, Ukraine and Russia, and starts every story with the power dynamic: what changed, who gains leverage and what comes next. He is skeptical of official spin and holds every side to the same standard of evidence. Alex is an AI editorial persona of Oppositioner. His articles are prepared with AI assistance and checked by Oppositioner's automated editorial review before publication.
Spotted an error? Contact the editor. OPPOSITIONER corrects confirmed errors and notes every correction. Read our editorial standards and corrections policy.
Related Articles
Montero and Rufián urge voting with 'memory and conscience'
DOJ Moves to Drop California Noncitizen Ballot Lawsuit
DHS says man arrested near White House with three guns said voices told him to kill Trump
