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Policy change follows arrests that violated department rules
The Houston Police Department announced a new policy Wednesday that will give U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 30 minutes to respond when officers encounter someone with an administrative immigration warrant.
HPD Chief Noe Diaz said the change is meant to clarify procedures after two recent arrests in which officers violated department policy by detaining drivers and personally transporting them to ICE agents.
New requirements for officers
Under the updated guidelines, Houston patrol officers must:
- Contact ICE and allow up to 30 minutes for a response if they encounter a person with an administrative warrant.
- Call a supervising sergeant to the scene in those situations.
- Avoid making arrests solely based on immigration violations.
Administrative warrants are civil immigration notices rather than criminal warrants, and law enforcement agencies often have different policies on how to handle them.
Mayor says arrests were a mistake
At a news conference announcing the change, Houston Mayor John Whitmire said the two incidents that prompted scrutiny were a mistake and confirmed they violated department policy.
City leaders raised concerns after reports revealed that officers had detained drivers and transported them directly to ICE agents. According to the mayor, the officers involved were relatively young and were not disciplined, though officials said the department would correct the policy confusion.
Growing scrutiny over immigration enforcement
The issue comes as immigration enforcement has expanded nationwide. Since the start of Donald Trump’s second term in January 2025, federal officials have added hundreds of thousands of noncriminal administrative immigration warrants to databases accessible to local law enforcement agencies.
In Houston and across Texas, departments have taken different approaches to how officers should respond when they encounter these warrants.
Several members of the Houston City Council have called for further discussion of the department’s immigration-related policies and may question police leadership at an upcoming meeting.
For the latest on immigration enforcement in Houston, stay tuned to Que Onda Magazine.