Unelected Houston City Attorney Says Can't Even Be Formal Council Discussion Of Any Autonomy From ICE Tactics

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​A "Proposition A" motion, meaning it can be brought to Houston City Council with the signatures of three councilmembers, about how the City of Houston interacts with ICE has been advanced by Alejandra Salinas, Ed Pollard & Abbie Kamin. 

I say City of Houston rather than HPD because we too often refer to the police as something separate from the city or from other city departments. The police work for us and are subordinate to civilian authority. 

This effort was announced at press conference Thursday, 3/19, at Houston City Hall. I went to the press conference. Here is a detailed story on the proposal from NPR KUHF 88.7. 

According to Councilmember Salinas, here is what the ordinance would do: 

• 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

​Except today, 3/27, Houston City Attorney Arturo Michel has said no to the any city discretion in calling over the warrants. Below you see Mr. Michel at the 3/19 press conference. I took this picture & said to myself I'll use it when he does some harm to the ordinance. He was watching like a grim reaper waiting for the moment. Mr. Michel is skilled in doing what Mayor Whitmire wants done.

(To Mr. Michel's credit, he understands that being in public means somebody might take your picture. Councilmember Twila Carter & police union boss Doug Griffith don't seem to get that.)

​Above you see the statement from Salinas, Pollard & Kamin on the City Attorney decision. 

From the Houston Chronicle:
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"A proposal to change the way Houston police officers work with immigration agents looks set to move ahead with two of its three original provisions after the City Attorney’s office rejected one of them, saying it would have violated state law...City attorneys rejected a third provision that would give officers discretion on when to call ICE, saying it might violate state law...Council members Alejandra Salinas, Abbie Kamin and Edward Pollard on Friday said they were working to refile the proposal, while saying they "strongly disagree" with the legal ruling. Other Texas cities have made it discretionary for their officers to call ICE...It’s unclear why City Attorney Arturo Michel’s office rejected the provision, given that Austin and Dallas have changed their policies to reduce how often officers call ICE for administrative warrants...The Chronicle has reached out to the city attorney's office for a copy of the ruling but had not received a copy Friday afternoon."

There is seemingly no off ramp for City of Houston cooperation with our authoritarian state and federal governments. I was hopeful we could at least discuss that Houston police officers do not have to robotically comply with these ICE warrants. Nope. We can't even present that idea formally for council to consider. If it comes from ICE, then we are on board. The unelected City Attorney says so. 

What happens when ICE issues warrants for political opponents? 

Harris County Clerk Tenisha Hudspeth says openly she expects interference from either the state or federal government in our 2026 Harris County elections. Ms. Hudspeth counts the votes. Governor Abbott has said our elections should be taken over. Understanding that counting the votes is a county function, will the city go along with that as well? 

All Mayor Whitmire ever really says is we need federal cooperation to run the city. But our civil liberties and freedom are not luxuries or privilege. They are not for others to bargain away. 
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Where is the off ramp? 

ICE at the voting polls? Suspension of habeas corpus? ICE killing peaceful protesters? A Trump third term affirmed at the 2028 Republican Convention which is right here in Houston? The federal government rounding-up non-white American citizens for deportation? All these things have occurred or been suggested by Trump or his close allies. 

I support the ordinance and will advocate for it. I appreciate the councilmembers who moved it forward. I do not agree it is strong after Mr. Michel's decision today. Pledges of transparent reporting from Mayor Whitmire & HPD about working with ICE are worthless. They've lied about the cooperation over and over. 

I'll support the ordinance for the progress it does bring & for the capacity it has to organize ourselves. The March 31 evening public comment session of Houston City Council promises to be lively and entertaining. Ms. Salinas and other councilmembers are encouraging people to take part. That's good. Let's make a habit of showing up. 

There are advocacy groups supporting the ordinance. That's good as well. My focus is more so people acting as individuals. Most of us are going to act as individuals. That's much of the point of the more than 3,000 No Kings protests across the nation. People are showing up for themselves. These are the people who will show up when habeas corpus is suspended. 

The rapid and successful citizen response to the declaration of martial law in South Korea in December, 2024 & the rank and file-led actions of people in Minnesota against the abuses of ICE are strong examples of the necessity of our leadership. 

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. The conventional political process at city hall or in the legislative chamber is not going to be enough. 

Let's use the process over this ordinance to strengthen ourselves. We must show up for ourselves. 

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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