Three protest notes: 

​1. Mayor Whitmire yesterday implied yesterday in his press conference about HPD/ICE, that the Houston No Kings folks had asked HPD for protection for the 3/28 protest. That's not the case. They made a statement to that effect that you see below.

2. Below is a list of 3/28 No Kings protests in the Houston-region. The graphic leaves off the newly-listed Galveston protest. Here is the link to find a No Kings protest near you. If you don't see one near you, organize it yourself.

3. Below is a Montrose Bridge protest that tomorrow, 3/13, will be in its 10th week.

Here is the link for a street medic/emergency training in The Woodlands on Sunday, 3/15.

I'll say it every time because some people need to hear it to one able to move forward--Voting is essential & do the electoral work you need to do. 

But to leave ourselves only to the dysfunction, grift and limitations of electoral politics & the police elected officials send no matter how peacefully we assemble for our most basic freedoms, is a misguided path.
​
The next action is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. You don't need to feel self-confident to proceed. Voting will not be enough.

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​Mayor Whitmire and HPD Chief Diaz held a press conference today, 3/11, about HPD working with ICE. Above you see a picture of the press conference. 

I encourage you to watch it yourself. It’s 43 minutes. 

Mayor Whitmire & Chief Diaz were responding to a report in the Houston Chronicle that said HPD had transported 2 people directly to ICE & how HPD interactions with ICE are significantly up.

The Mayor & Chief said there would now be a specific police directive saying don't drive people to ICE custody, that ICE will be given 30 minutes to respond to calls from HPD & that when a civil immigration warrant pops up from an HPD interaction, that a sergeant will now be called to the scene.

A few reactions:

1. Mayor Whitmire continues to imply that the people protesting against ICE in Los Angeles, Chicago and Minneapolis are to blame for the conflict seen in those cities. It is so offensive. The issue was /is a federal government using masked goons for ethnic cleansing. Renee Good and Alex Pretti are not responsible for their deaths at the hands of ICE. Mayor Whitmire's reasoning on this is disgusting.

2. Mayor Whitmire keeps saying that the people opposing ICE and federal policies are office seekers and paid agitators. The reality is most of the work is being done by rank & file Houstonians not connected to any group. We do this on our own time and dime & increasingly at some measure of physical risk. 

(No Kings is an example of this volunteer-led work. There are many March 28 No Kings protests scheduled across the Houston-region. Find one near you.)

3. If the City of Houston will look the other way at ICE rounding up people and sending them without due process to concentration camp facilities, then we can only assume the city will look the other way when Abbott/Trump interfere with Harris County elections in 2026 as they threaten. There is apparently nothing at all that will cause the city to push back. We must continue to organize ourselves and look after ourselves.

4. No matter what horse hockey Chief Diaz offers about the HPD Community Affairs Department, the reality is that program was ended and the officers dedicated to department were reassigned.

5. Below is the response to the press conference today from Democratic Councilmember Alejandra Salinas. She is referencing proposals that Houston City Council stop/inhibit non-safety HPD traffic stops. This policy might lessen interactions that lead to ICE being called & lessen the prospect that Black folks and others are hassled for stuff like tinted windows.

Councilmember Salinas/others must offer an ordinance to Council that has muscle and that is responsive to all communities.

It is clear that Councilmember Salinas believes there is more work to do.

"I commend the Mayor and the Houston Police Department for taking the first step toward additional oversight and addressing some long-standing community concerns. But we cannot stop here. Houston is still requiring police to cooperate with ICE beyond what state law mandates and beyond what other major Texas cities – from Bexar County to the Cities of Austin and Dallas – are doing.....I’m working with my colleagues and community partners to put forward stronger policies and transparency measures that would keep officers focused on addressing serious crime and ensure residents feel safe calling 911 when they need help. I am hopeful we can come together to build on today’s progress to make Houston safer for all residents."
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Let's follow this issue, be involved in the Council debate & act on our own. The next action is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. Voting is not going to be enough.

Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM with the exception once each month when it is at 5:00 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember.  The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. You must register to speak by 3 PM the day before. 

The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and past sessions are available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. Here are maps of Council districts so you can see who represents you. 

Here is contact information for Mayor Whitmire & Council--

Mayor Whitmire—832-393-1000 [email protected] 

Democrats: 
At-Large-Alejandra Salinas 832-393-3012  [email protected]
At-Large-Sallie Alcorn 832-393-3017  [email protected]
District B-Tarsha Jackson 832-393-3009  [email protected]
District C-Abbie Kamin 832-393-3004  [email protected]
District D-Carolyn Evans-Shabazz 832-393-3001 [email protected]
District F-Tiffany Thomas 832-393-3002  [email protected]
District H-Mario Castillo 832-393-3002  [email protected]
District I-Joaquin Martinez 832-393-3011 [email protected]
District J-Edward Pollard 832-393-3015  [email protected]
District K-Martha Castex-Tatum 832-393-3016  [email protected]

Republicans: 
At-Large-Julian Ramirez 832-393-3014 [email protected]
At-Large-Willie Davis 832-393-3013 [email protected] 
At-Large-Twila Carter 832-393-3005 [email protected]
District A-Amy Peck 832-393-3010 [email protected]
District E-Fred Flickinger 832-393-3008 [email protected] 
District G-Mary Nan Huffman 832-393-3007 [email protected] ​​​

​

Above is a list of No Kings protests across the Houston-region. Here is the link  to find the specifics of these protests and all No Kings across Texas and the nation. I know I saw a Galveston Island event as well, but it is not listed here yet. There are also No Kings listed at the link in Brenham, Coldspring, Navasota, Beaumont, Bedias, Livingston, Bryan and also College Station. 

No Kings protests allow democracy advocates to invest time and resources into organizing and self-protection, without the extraction of resources and grift you get with the conventional political system.

We are showing up for the electoral work. But here there is no gatekeeper, no murky endorsement processes, no hierarchy, no electeds looking to manipulate people, no consultants getting paid.

At bottom line, when ICE shoots someone in Houston, or Abbott comes for our elections--We will be swarmed by cops no matter how peacefully we assemble & elected officials will be unreliable allies.

We need to know each other across the Houston-region and have each other's backs. The work ahead is ours. We need to know each other and support each other. 

The next action is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. Voting is not going to be enough. 

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The Houston Chronicle has reported cooperation between the Houston Police Department and ICE more extensive than previously detailed. 

​From the Chronicle on 3/5:

"Houston police officers in at least two instances have arrested drivers and personally transported them to immigration agents — a new level cooperation with federal officials that could risk violating the U.S. Constitution and internal policies, according to legal experts...The details, gleaned from police reports, come days after Houston-area religious leaders appeared before city council to denounce a general uptick in the Houston Police Department’s cooperation with ICE agents. Officers called federal authorities in more than 154 cases in 2025, an increase of more than 1,000% from prior years...the revelation that officers have directly arrested people on The U.S. Constitution designates immigration enforcement as a federal responsibility and, thus, local agencies aren't allowed to police immigration laws unless they've been deputized in what are known as 287(g) agreements,  inquiries could be considered a violation of the Fourth Amendment, some legal experts said...Houston participates in no such agreement...."These reports demand action to ensure Houston is not requiring cooperation with ICE beyond state law," Councilmember Alejandra Salinas said. "Families should not live in fear that a broken taillight or call for help could lead to a loved one being taken away by ICE. Our officers should be focused on serious crime - not serving as an accessory to federal immigration enforcement."

We've been at this for a while now--Mayor Whitmire won't come clean with HPD's cooperation with ICE & Houston City Council won't engage in meaningful oversight or take needed action. It was in November of last year Mayor Whitmire finally admitted, after months of denial, that HPD was in fact working with ICE. 

(Above--Mayor Whitmire & HPD Chief Noe Diaz) 

​In addition to the dishonesty, Mayor Whitmire has botched it over and over in how to respond to ICE terror on our streets. Mayor Whitmire has repeatedly blamed people bravely opposing ICE across the country for "turmoil" rather than holding ICE responsible and has brought far-right Houston Police Officer's Union head Doug Griffith to Council, to tell the public that use of the word "fight" in opposing ICE could be taken as suggesting violence against law enforcement. 

​In the Chronicle article excerpted above, you see where Democratic At-Large Councilmember Alejandra Salinas says ICE should not be called from an HPD interaction that begins with a "broken taillight." A topic of repeated discussion at Houston City Council in recent weeks has been a possible ordinance that would end or inhibit HPD pulling people over for non-safety traffic stops. 

​This is a matter we must pressure Houston City Council to adopt. 

The issue here is far beyond even the terrible impact of ICE on Houston communities and all our civil liberties. If Houston city government will look the other way at Houstonians being profiled for having brown skin and driving a work van/truck and bring sent to terrible detention/concentration camps, then we can also anticipate municipal leaders will sit on the sidelines when Governor Abbott messes with our Harris County elections as he has promised.

​It seems there is no threat, abuse or outrage from our authoritarian state or federal governments, that the City of Houston will respond to in any meaningful, principled or courageous way. 

​Houston City Council does not meet this week. The next public comment session is Tuesday, 3/17. Below is information on how to follow and interact with Council. 

We need to continue to press Council to address ICE in Houston. If an ordinance is proposed that has real impact on stopping non-safety traffic stops, we need to support it and push for it. Mayor Whitmire will pressure the city legal department to say it violates state or federal law. The bullies at the police "union" will pitch a fit. If somebody on Council really makes an effort to get this done, then we need to support them. 

Most of all we need to organize ourselves. The next action is when you organize it, the First Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. Voting is not going to be enough. What happens at Houston City Council has the potential to be important. In the end though, each of us are the main act. 

Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM with the exception once each month when it is at 5:00 PM. Here is how you can speak at Council and here is how to contact your councilmember.  The earlier before the session you sign up, the higher up on the speaker's list you'll be. You must register to speak by 3 PM the day before. 

The agenda session to conduct Council business is each Wednesday at 9 AM. The agenda is posted in advance. Council can be watched live on HTV Houston Television and past sessions are available at any time on the HTV feed on Facebook. Here is the link to past sessions of Council. Here are maps of Council districts so you can see who represents you. 

Here is contact information for Mayor Whitmire & Council--

Mayor Whitmire—832-393-1000 [email protected] 

Democrats: 
At-Large-Alejandra Salinas 832-393-3012  [email protected]
At-Large-Sallie Alcorn 832-393-3017  [email protected]
District B-Tarsha Jackson 832-393-3009  [email protected]
District C-Abbie Kamin 832-393-3004  [email protected]
District D-Carolyn Evans-Shabazz 832-393-3001 [email protected]
District F-Tiffany Thomas 832-393-3002  [email protected]
District H-Mario Castillo 832-393-3002  [email protected]
District I-Joaquin Martinez 832-393-3011 [email protected]
District J-Edward Pollard 832-393-3015  [email protected]
District K-Martha Castex-Tatum 832-393-3016  [email protected]

Republicans: 
At-Large-Julian Ramirez 832-393-3014 [email protected]
At-Large-Willie Davis 832-393-3013 [email protected] 
At-Large-Twila Carter 832-393-3005 [email protected]
District A-Amy Peck 832-393-3010 [email protected]
District E-Fred Flickinger 832-393-3008 [email protected] 
District G-Mary Nan Huffman 832-393-3007 [email protected] ​​

With the primary mercifully over, we can get back to the more essential task of organizing ourselves. 

Above you see word of an event at Memorial Park on Sunday, 3/8. Here is the link to register to attend. I've not seen a skill share event like this before. Good to see.

There were 38 at week 473 of the John Cornyn Houston Office Protest this past Tuesday. The protest is each Tuesday, 11:30-1, 5300 Memorial Dr. 

No Kings is March 28. No Kings is another opportunity to organize ourselves. Here is the link to find a No Kings protest near you across the Houston-region and across the nation. If you don't find one that works, organize one yourself.  

No result in the primary is as important as our rank-and-file leadership & showing up for ourselves no matter what in the challenging days ahead in 2026. The next action is when you organize it. The 1st Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. Voting is not going to be enough.

​I rent to a protest yesterday at a highway overpass at N. Loop 336 and I-45. The protest was organized by We Rise Up & Cypress-Tomball Democrats. The subject was the terrible conditions in ICE detainment/concentration camps across Texas. I'd say there were at least 125 people. You see the protest above. 

Going to the protest expanded my networks. I’ll be part of more & help build more because of people I met  & colleagues I stood with again. 

The most important opposition to authoritarianism is & will be autonomous, decentralized, self-funded, not dependent on elected officials or political parties. There will be a minimum of grift & a surplus of pragmatic building of alternative structures to help protect us from mainstream systems.

When Trump/Abbott won't accept our election results, no matter how peacefully we assemble we’ll be surrounded by cops & elected officials will be uncertain allies.

A big reason I believe in organizing protest and networks outside electoral politics, is so the people we help elect and their insider networks on our side of the aisle can’t sell out people focused on democracy to the right, in exchange for some promise of safety or reward in an authoritarian state.

I’m always wary of electoral organizing and influencing that builds top-down rather than bottom-up networks. I’m glad the March 28 No Kings gives us another round of organizing ourselves not dependent on big money or elected officials. Find a No Kings Protest near you. Organize one yourself if there is not one near you. 

The next action is when you organize it. The First Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. Voting is not going to be enough. 

​We need our own networks & structures across the Houston-region and we are in the process of building them.