Houston considers repealing new ICE cooperation rules
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Under threat of a $110 million funding loss, the Houston City Council on Friday will consider repealing changes it recently approved to how city police officers cooperate with ICE agents.
Why it matters: Mayor John Whitmire called the threat by Gov. Greg Abbott a "crisis situation," saying public safety operations surrounding the FIFA World Cup would be affected.
Driving the news: Whitmire, who voted in favor of the rule change, on Monday called a special City Council meeting to consider repealing the new ordinance.
- The notice was posted hours after Abbott's office sent the city the letter threatening to pull funding.
Catch up quick: Under the new rules, HPD officers can detain someone only as long as necessary for the initial reason for the encounter, like a traffic stop.
- Officers must call ICE if a suspect has an administrative immigration warrant, but they can no longer wait for ICE agents to arrive if there's no other reason to further detain the person.
- Officers were previously allowed to detain individuals with administrative warrants for as long as it took for ICE agents to arrive. In March, that was reduced to a 30-minute window.
Friction point: The governor's Public Safety Office told the city Monday that restricting officers from detaining someone solely for an ICE administrative warrant was in violation of grant agreements between Houston and the state of Texas.
- The office has issued Houston around $110 million in public safety grants in Fiscal Year 2026, which runs from July 1, 2025, to June 30, 2026.
- They gave Whitmire until April 20 to repeal the ordinance or the city will have to forfeit and return the funds. Plus, it will be ineligible to receive Public Safety Office grant funding for at least another year.
What they're saying: "We have significant work ahead, and I'm considering all options," Whitmire said.
The other side: Council member Alejandra Salinas, who was one of three members to formally propose the changes last month, said Abbott's threat "is an attempt to bully our city for doing what is right."
- "This is not a surprise," Salinas says in a statement to Axios. "It's straight out of the schoolyard bully playbook."
- Salinas urged the city to "not give in to this unlawful intimidation."
State of play: While council members approved the rules April 8, HPD's top brass told officers to continue business as usual.
- The Texas Attorney General's Office also opened an investigation into whether the rules violate state law. Council members who initially proposed the changes and the city attorney say they don't.
Between the lines: Administrative warrants are issued by ICE. They're not criminal accusations.
- The number of administrative warrants skyrocketed at the onset of Trump 2.0 as the White House pushes for mass deportations.
By the numbers: HPD officers referred people to ICE agents 186 times from 2020 through December 2025, per HPD data obtained by Axios. Nearly 150 of those referrals happened last year after the Trump administration ramped up immigration enforcement.
What's next: City Council will meet at 9am Friday to vote on repealing the ordinance.