HOUSTON — Mayor John Whitmire signed an executive order Friday, November 6, directing the Houston Police Department to sharply limit routine cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, reversing a controversial policy after Democrats won major statewide elections in Texas. The directive prevents officers from contacting ICE solely because someone encountered during a traffic stop or other police interaction has an administrative immigration warrant. Whitmire said the change was intended to reduce fear among Houston residents and reflected a shift in the state’s political leadership following Tuesday’s midterm elections.

The order, designated Executive Order 1-74, took effect November 6 and requires Houston police leadership to issue updated instructions governing contact with federal immigration authorities. Under its provisions, police personnel may contact ICE about individuals who are already being booked into jail on new criminal charges or other warrants and whose records show an ICE administrative warrant in the National Crime Information Center. For qualifying individuals being jailed for offenses that permit detention, the directive requires notification under departmental procedures.

The distinction is significant for routine traffic enforcement. A driver stopped for a minor violation who receives a citation rather than being arrested and jailed will not be referred to ICE merely because an immigration warrant appears during a records check. The order also prohibits officers from extending detention or taking someone into custody solely because that individual is, or is suspected of being, subject to immigration enforcement.

Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz supported the change and said officers would implement the revised procedures immediately. During Friday’s announcement, Diaz explained that individuals receiving citations for minor traffic offenses would be allowed to continue their journeys without officers notifying immigration authorities solely on the basis of an administrative warrant. The revised policy is intended to establish a consistent standard for encounters that do not involve booking someone into jail.

Administrative immigration warrants differ from criminal arrest warrants issued by judges. They are generally issued by federal immigration officials and may concern civil immigration violations or existing removal orders. Their appearance in law enforcement databases does not necessarily mean the individual is suspected of committing a separate criminal offense. That distinction has been central to disputes over whether local police should initiate federal immigration contacts during ordinary policing activities.

The November order reverses procedures Houston adopted earlier this year. An April 23 Houston Police Department directive required officers who encountered ICE administrative warrants in the National Crime Information Center to contact ICE’s Law Enforcement Support Center and request supervisory involvement. When no local criminal charges were involved, federal officials could request that officers remain at the scene for a reasonable period while immigration agents responded.

The April procedures followed a prolonged dispute involving Houston City Council, immigration advocates and Republican Gov. Greg Abbott. Council members initially approved restrictions intended to reduce the time officers spent waiting for federal immigration agents during local enforcement encounters. Abbott responded by threatening to withhold approximately $110 million in public safety funding from Houston, arguing that the city’s approach conflicted with Texas law requiring cooperation with federal immigration authorities.

The city subsequently revised its ordinance, and police leadership issued instructions requiring contact with federal immigration officials when administrative warrants appeared during encounters. Houston’s November 6 executive order replaces that requirement with a narrower standard tied to existing jail custody and criminal enforcement. The new order also directs police leadership to ensure individuals are not detained in the field solely to await ICE pickup.

The legal framework remains important. Texas Senate Bill 4, enacted in 2017, restricts local governments from adopting policies that prohibit or materially limit cooperation with federal immigration enforcement. Whitmire’s executive order emphasizes compliance with the U.S. and Texas constitutions, including protections against unreasonable searches and seizures. It also states that the city intends to direct police resources toward public safety without improperly restricting authority reserved to officers under state and federal law.

The policy change came just three days after Texas voters delivered major statewide victories to Democrats. Gina Hinojosa defeated Abbott in the governor’s race, ending more than three decades of Republican control of the office. Whitmire, himself a Democrat and a former state lawmaker who opposed the 2017 immigration cooperation law, acknowledged that the election results influenced his decision. He also said he had consulted newly elected statewide officials before announcing the change.

At Friday’s news conference, Whitmire framed the executive order as an effort to rebuild community confidence in local law enforcement. He said the city should prioritize dangerous offenders rather than residents engaged in ordinary activities such as working, attending school or caring for their families. The mayor’s comments reflected concerns that routine cooperation with immigration authorities had created anxiety among residents who might otherwise seek assistance from the police.

The debate has intensified because of Houston’s recent immigration enforcement history. According to reporting by the Houston Chronicle cited by The Texas Tribune, Houston officers contacted ICE at least 107 times during the first eight months of 2025, compared with nine contacts during all of 2024. One reported incident involved a woman who contacted police about domestic violence, only for an officer to discover an immigration warrant and notify federal authorities. ICE agents did not respond to that scene.

Local confidence in immigration enforcement has also been affected by serious incidents involving federal agents. Houston residents protested the July 7 fatal shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo by an immigration officer. Separately, a Harris County grand jury indicted ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales on an aggravated assault charge arising from an incident in which a federal officer’s vehicle struck Miguel Parra Hernandez, breaking his leg. Prosecutors alleged that the collision was intentional; ICE disputed that characterization. The indictment remains an allegation, not a conviction.

Immigrant rights organizations welcomed Whitmire’s announcement while emphasizing that restoring trust would require more than a policy statement. Cesar Espinosa, executive director of the Houston organization FIEL, told The Associated Press that cooperation between local police and immigration authorities had made residents fearful of traffic stops and reluctant to seek help. Immigration attorney Ruby Powers similarly cautioned that community confidence would not return immediately simply because the department had adopted new procedures.

Houston Controller Chris Hollins, who previously advocated limiting cooperation with ICE, described the order as a promising initial step but questioned why the mayor had not acted sooner. Hollins argued that earlier incidents involving federal immigration officers should have prompted a policy change before the election. His response underscored continuing disagreements among city officials about Whitmire’s handling of immigration enforcement during Abbott’s administration.

Federal officials criticized the decision. In a statement reported by The Associated Press, ICE expressed disappointment with local politicians who seek to restrict cooperation with the agency, arguing that immigration officers are carrying out their law enforcement responsibilities. The disagreement highlights competing priorities: federal authorities emphasize access to local enforcement information, while Houston’s new directive focuses on limiting immigration-related contacts that arise from encounters not resulting in jail custody.

The implications extend beyond Houston. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson also asked local officials Friday to reconsider that city’s procedures governing ICE administrative warrants following similar pressure from Abbott. The developments suggest that Texas municipalities may reassess their immigration enforcement policies as the state prepares for a change in gubernatorial leadership. However, existing state law remains in effect, and the election results do not automatically eliminate legal constraints on local governments.

Houston’s directive also has operational limits. It governs the Houston Police Department’s own communications with ICE regarding people in departmental custody, rather than all federal immigration operations within city boundaries. It does not prevent ICE from conducting independent enforcement activities, and it does not itself determine how Harris County jail authorities respond to federal immigration requests after someone is transferred into county custody.

The order calls for the police chief to establish procedures governing when authorized ICE contacts occur, how those contacts are documented and how officers apply the new standards consistently. The department must also ensure that people are not held in the field simply to facilitate collection by immigration agents. These implementation requirements will determine how the policy operates during traffic stops, arrests and other encounters.

The broader political context remains unsettled. The Democratic victories changed expectations for state executive leadership, but longstanding disputes over federal immigration enforcement, police discretion and municipal authority are unlikely to disappear immediately. The Trump administration continues to pursue immigration enforcement through federal agencies and cooperation arrangements with state and local authorities, while Texas cities must navigate their responsibilities under existing state and federal law.

For Houston, the immediate result is a change in the circumstances under which routine police encounters can lead to contact with immigration officers. Residents who receive citations and are released will no longer face an ICE referral solely because of an administrative immigration warrant. Whether the new policy produces lasting changes in community trust, police practices or legal disputes will depend on its implementation and the response from state and federal officials.