Many Houstonians Ask City To End HPD Cooperation With ICE-Council Dems Silent

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Many people came to Houston City Hall on Tuesday evening to talk about the Houston Police Department working with ICE. 

​(Below you'll find information on interacting with and watching Houston City Council.) 

Here is the link to the session. Above you see one the people who spoke at Council about ICE and HPD. 

Mayor Whitmire has said HPD is not working with ICE. But that's not true. 

From KUHF 88.7:

"A spokesperson for Mayor John Whitmire told Houston Public Media that the mayor "has consistently stated that the City of Houston is not ICE and does not focus on immigration enforcement."

From the Houston Chronicle:

​"More than half the Houston police calls to immigration authorities since the start of 2025 have come during routine traffic stops, internal Houston Police Department reports show...Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents responded to the calls and detained people a smaller percentage of the time, around 24%, but the mere fact that police are calling them on routine traffic stops has immigration advocates concerned.....For years, the Houston Police Department maintained a code, used only around once or twice per year before 2025, to document the times when officers encounter someone and call ICE on them. The reports are categorized as immigration inquiries....Starting in 2025, the number of reports logged under that code has risen drastically Records show Houston police have called ICE on at least 58 such people this year as of May 31."
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A lot of people spoke at Council, but no Councilmember responded. I waited to write this post for the Wednesday business session of Council. I wanted to see if any Councilmember used the personal time they have at the end to address any topic, to talk about HPD and ICE. 

Nope. 

It's not just about ICE. ICE is part of a larger structure and apparatus of secret police, suspension of due process and attacks on cities that put all Houstonians at risk. 

There have been previous Council meetings where many Houstonians spoke about HPD and ICE. I've done so myself. 

I'm going to continue to ask Houston City Council to call on HPD to stop working with ICE. I hope that people keep on pressing Council on the subject. They should speak up not just for the good of the city and for the rule of law, but out of self-interest as well. Is this future they want for themselves and their families? 

At the same time, I appreciate the clarity of their silence. Elected officials are not at the lead of our fight for democracy. We are deep into this crisis of ICE and assaults on civil liberties. We must demand more of Houston City Council Democrats, but we can't make them step up. We do however control our own actions. The challenge ahead is ours. 

Public comment time at Houston City Council is each Tuesday at 2 PM with the exception of the last Friday of each month when it is at 5:30 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. 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 the most recent session is 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. 

Below is contact information for Mayor Whitmire & Council. 

Mayor Whitmire—713-837-0311 [email protected] 

Democrats: 
At-Large-Letitia Plummer 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] ​

I'm on the Egberto Willies Politics Done Right Show every Thursday from 6 AM to 7 AM for the Houston Democracy Project segment. You can hear the show on the radio, stream it on KPFT or watch later Egberto's YouTube channel.​​

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