Houston mayor limits ICE cooperation by police after Democratic victory
Texas is the US state with the highest number of Immigration and Customs Enforcement detainees, holding over 16,000 across various facilities.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire has instructed the city's police to cease cooperation with federal immigration agents in cases involving nonviolent offenses, following a Democratic victory in this week's midterm elections. The policy change comes as Democrats ousted Republican Governor Greg Abbott, a close ally of President Donald Trump, who had previously threatened to cut $110 million in public safety funding from Houston if the city did not reverse a similar measure.
Whitmire signed the executive order during a press conference, aiming to alleviate fear and anxiety in Houston communities. However, the move has drawn criticism from ICE, which stated that both child pornography and heroin possession are considered nonviolent offenses. Texas, under Abbott's leadership, has seen the highest number of ICE arrests and detainees in the U.S., with nearly 137,000 recorded arrests since 2022, according to the Prison Policy Initiative.
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