Public Discussion At Houston City Council On ICE Ordinance-Will Council Stand Up To Authoritarians Over Anything?

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There was extensive public comment at Houston City Council Tuesday, 3/31, about the ordinance proposed by Councilmembers Alejandra Salinas, Ed Pollard & Abbie Kamin regarding how the City Of Houston interacts with ICE. Above you see a Houstonian speaking at the session. 

Here is an account of the meeting from NPR KUHF.  Here is the video of the meeting from HTV. The comments begin at around the 6 minute 30 second point of the video. Here is the text of the ordinance so you can speak to it directly. Here is a letter you can sign to show support. 

Here is what Councilmember Salinas says the ordinance as originally proposed would accomplish:

• HPD won't be required to contact ICE for civil administrative warrants
• Traffic stops end when their lawful purpose ends — not when ICE arrives
• Transparency reports on HPD's contact with ICE

However, Houston City Attorney Arturo Michel has ruled that the first provision is not legal and it has been struck from the proposal now before Council. All three of the councilmembers who proposed the ordinance are lawyers and Ms. Kamin is the Democratic nominee for Harris County Attorney. 

Some say that Mr. Michel is an unelected political actor in addition to his role as city attorney. For example, it came out at a recent council committee session , and at the Agenda Session of Council on Wednesday, 4/1, that the city has lost an arbitration case to the right-wing firefighters union as part of the ongoing aftershocks of the irresponsible budget-busting firefighters contract.

Questions to Mr. Michel by councilmembers revealed that this arbitration decision was made a few weeks ago and was never shared with our elected city council. In part due to Mayor Whitmire's mismanagement of city finances, the city is facing substantial fiscal deficits. Information about this adverse arbitration decision should not have been withheld from council & city staff should be serving the city rather than the mayor's political agenda. 

Some observations from the comment session: 

* Many Houstonians were frustrated that the original ordinance was diluted.
* Many called for non-safety traffic stops to also be addressed. Ms. Salinas said she would work on that in the future. She also said she will work to get the provision struck from the ordinance back before council. 
* The hope of future progress will be very much dented if Nick Hellyar replaces Abbie Kamin in District C. Remind a District C voter you know that Election Day is Saturday, April 4 and to reject Republican-friendly Nick Hellyar. 
* There were some speakers against the ordinance. They were really sour apples. 
* The ordinance will be voted on at council on Wednesday, April 8. 
* Ms. Salinas is clearly working hard to build a coalition of support to get this passed. 

I'll also add that if a majority-Democrat council in the most diverse city in America can't approve this watered-down ordinance after so many accounts of abuse by ICE, just what is it they will respond to? 

Trump recently issued an executive order messing with mail ballots and telling states to send eligible voter lists to the so-called Department of Justice. No matter how that stands up in court, we know the confusion and doubt the order is intended to create. Governor Abbott has already said 2026 Harris County elections should be taken over by the state. 

If Houston city officials can't even take some intermediate steps to regulate ICE, what confidence can we have that they would meaningfully address voter suppression by our authoritarian, white supremacist state and federal governments? 

The work ahead is ours. The next action is when you organize it. The 1st Amendment is your permit. The only credential needed is your presence. The conventional political process at city hall or in the legislative chamber will not be enough. 

Below is information to contact Houston City Council the ICE ordinance, or about any matter you care about. Be in the habit of contacting council & be prepared to advocate for yourself in the difficult days ahead. 

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] ​​​
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