The proposal challenges current HPD procedures as city leaders debate how officers should handle administrative ICE warrants.
Council Member Alejandra Salinas, joined by Council Member Abbie Kamin and several community leaders, introduced an ordinance that would clarify how Houston police handle administrative immigration warrants and limit when local officers would contact federal immigration authorities.
The proposal states that Houston Police Department officers would not be required to call US Immigration and Customs Enforcement for administrative warrants, which are civil in nature and not reviewed by a judge. The ordinance would also require routine traffic stops to end once their lawful purpose is complete and mandate regular public reporting on how often HPD asks about immigration status or contacts federal immigration officials.
“First, the ordinance makes clear that local police officers are not required to call ICE for civil administrative warrants,” Salinas said. “These citations are not reviewed by a judge, they are not reviewed by a third party, and they are not immediate public safety threats. Right now, despite last week’s announcement, HPD is still requiring every single officer to call ICE on every single administrative warrant they encounter. That is wrong, and this policy will change that.”
Salinas said the measure would also prevent officers from waiting up to 30 minutes for federal agents to respond during routine traffic stops, a practice she argued reduces patrol capacity and delays responses to violent crime. She added that the ordinance would increase transparency through regular public reporting.
Kamin, who represents District C, said the warrants in question are civil, not criminal.
“We should not be doing Trump’s dirty work,” Kamin said. “The Trump administration is dumping what are called administrative warrants, which have no nexus to public safety, into the systems that our local law enforcement departments traditionally use to identify dangerous individuals with outstanding criminal or judicial warrants.”
The proposal comes after Mayor John Whitmire recently announced updated HPD procedures for handling administrative ICE warrants. Under the mayor’s directive, officers must contact a sergeant to verify any administrative warrant. Federal agents are given a 30 minute window to respond; if they do not, officers are instructed not to detain or transport individuals based solely on the warrant.
“These officers do not ask people their immigration status,” Whitmire said during a joint press conference with Police Chief J. Noe Diaz. “But when they encounter someone while they’re doing their job, the law requires them to check the background in NCIC, and if there is a warrant from any other jurisdiction, they’re required to contact them.”
Whitmire said the city is doing its job and following the law, adding that it is unfortunate some would politicize the process.
“Shame on them,” he said.
Diaz added that the updated guidance simply provides oversight.
“This ensures that any decisions made in the field are carefully reviewed and supported by a supervisor,” he said.
The ordinance is co‑signed by Kamin and Council Member Edward Pollard of District J. It is expected to be considered by the Houston City Council in the coming weeks.
