HOUSTON – Texas’ largest city has voted 13-4 to amend a policy that limits cooperation between local law enforcement and federal immigration authorities, as it faces a major funding threat from Gov. Greg Abbott.
Ahead of the Wednesday vote, civil rights groups called the proposed changes a “backdoor attempt” at repealing the ordinance. But under questions from council members, the city’s attorney Arturo Michel said the amendment makes no major changes to the original measure, saying the new language was negotiated between the mayor’s staff and the governor’s public safety office.
On April 8, Houston’s City Council removed a rule directing police to wait 30 minutes for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents to arrive, if local officers encounter people with administrative immigration warrants during situations like traffic stops. The ordinance that replaced it also mandates quarterly reports from Houston police on its coordination with ICE.
But after Abbott’s office threatened to withdraw around $110 million in public safety grants on April 13, Mayor John Whitmire — who voted for the ordinance — immediately backtracked and pushed for a special City Council meeting on Friday to consider repealing the measure. Whitmire then canceled that meeting a few days later because the deadline to respond to the state’s demand was postponed.
The City Council discussed for more than two hours during its regular meeting Wednesday the proposed amendment to the ordinance, which Whitmire said reinforces the Fourth Amendment and protects $114 million in state funding.
The ordinance says per the Fourth Amendment, officers can detain someone “only as long as reasonably necessary to complete the legitimate purpose of the initial stop or investigation.” The proposed amendment strikes “only” and adds to it that officers may also detain the person “for other legitimate purposes discovered during the detention,” giving police more leeway for deciding when to extend the detention during these stops.
“HPD will ensure the policy complies with this reasonable standard,” the proposal added.
The proposed amendment also removes emphasis that ICE administrative warrants are civil and that they do not by themselves justify a stop or continued detention by local police.
In addition, the proposal redefines an ICE administrative warrant as “an administrative warrant issued by ICE personnel commanding the arrest of an individual either to conduct removal proceedings or for removal.” It strikes out language that says these warrants “are not reviewed by a neutral magistrate or judge and are not probable cause for a criminal arrest.”
The city council had approved the ordinance by a 12-5 vote. To amend it, a simple majority — or nine votes — is needed. The previous push for repeal would have required the support from two-thirds of the council instead.
A day before the Wednesday vote, Houston Police Officers’ Union President Douglas Griffith said he is in favor of the suggested changes, when read the proposed amendment by The Texas Tribune. The union had previously spoken out against the ordinance.
“I’s my understanding it’s supposed to comply with state law,” Griffith said. “And as long as it does that and protects our officers, we’re good with it.”
On the other hand, Travis Fife, an attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, said the proposed changes would gut the ordinance. He also questioned why the proposal cuts details that inform the public about ICE administrative warrants.
“At best, it is redundant and confusing,” Fife said. “And at worst, it’s a green light to unconstitutional police enforcement.”
Nikki Luellen with ACLU of Texas echoed Fife’s concerns.
“If our council members don’t listen to us now, before the vote, then they will hear it at the ballot box,” Luellen added in a Tuesday statement.
Dozens of people also registered to testify about the ordinance in front of the city council Tuesday afternoon, while protestors in front of City Hall chanted in support of immigrants.
Besides Houston, the governor’s office has similarly threatened $2.5 million in grants from Austin, as well as more than $87 million in grants and World Cup public safety funding from Dallas. These two cities also have rules directing local police not to prolong the detention of people during encounters like traffic stops for ICE agents.
In addition, Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has also sued Houston over the issue. No lawsuits have been announced against the other cities as of Wednesday.
This article first appeared on The Texas Tribune.
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