By Luke Jones, ABC13 Houston
HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — After two deadly shootings at the hands of federal agents in Minnesota, around 100 people attended Tuesday’s Houston City Council meeting to demand that the city end all cooperation with ICE.
“Get ICE the (expletive) out of Houston!” Adam Laureano-Bowie shouted.
“John Whitmire, guess what? Bending the knee to Greg Abbott will not save this city,” said Hayley Rodgers.
Gov. Greg Abbott was among the prominent voices in the wake of the Alex Pretti shooting, calling on the Trump administration to rethink its immigration enforcement efforts.
“They, being the White House, need to recalibrate on what needs to be done to make sure that that respect is going to be re-instilled,” Abbott said on Monday on the Mark Davis show.
According to ICE figures obtained by the Deportation Data Project, arrests in the ICE-defined Houston area increased 130 percent from 2024 to 2025.
“I absolutely disagree with Governor Abbott to recalibrate ICE. The people voted for mass deportations,” said Maria Espinoza with The Remembrance Project, a group that highlights the stories of Americans killed by undocumented immigrants.
None of the people who spoke during Tuesday’s public comment session voiced support for immigration enforcement efforts.
Viana Truong, who said her father was deported two weeks ago, sought assurances from the mayor “for HPD to limit cooperation with ICE where possible and to protect immigrant families who call this city home.”
“You’re all complicit by the way,” Katya Licona told city council members. “I don’t care if you’re speaking up. You’re not doing enough.”
While the mayor stayed silent on the subject of immigration enforcement on Tuesday night, he previously said HPD only alerts ICE when officers come across someone with an ICE warrant, like it would for a warrant from any agency.
But many who spoke on Tuesday don’t want HPD to do that.
“HPD should solely focus on local matters,” Councilman Edward Pollard said.
“So ignore those warrants?” Eyewitness News asked.
“HPD should solely focus on local matters,” Pollard responded.
Others say that would be a mistake. Of almost 3,600 Houston area ICE arrests over a six-week period last year, ICE said 26 percent had committed non immigration related crimes.
“Gather your families and select which one you will sacrifice for someone else to supposedly have a better life,” Espinoza said in response to people calling for ICE to withdraw from Houston.
Eyewitness News asked Whitmire’s office for a response to any of the comments made at Tuesday’s meeting. His office released a statement praising the success of the meeting but avoiding any talk of immigration enforcement.
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This story comes from our news partner ABC13 Houston.