Houston police called ICE 88 times from July through September 2026

Who's involved

• John Whitmire · Houston Mayor^[1]
• Noe Diaz · HPD Chief^[1]
• Alejandra Salinas · Houston City Council member^[1]

The facts

1. Houston police officers contacted federal immigration agents 88 times from July through the end of September 2026, according to data issued by the department on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026.^[1]
2. Officers detained people for approximately 45 minutes on average while waiting for ICE agents to respond.^[1]
3. Of the 88 ICE contacts, 58 people were released, 13 were taken to jail for new charges, and 17 were taken into ICE custody.^[1]
4. In 33 cases, officers were responding to a call for emergency services when they encountered someone with an immigration warrant.^[1]
5. In April 2026, the Houston City Council passed an ordinance intended to curtail coordination between HPD and ICE and require regular reporting about those interactions.^[1]
6. After Texas Gov. Greg Abbott intervened, threatening to revoke more than $110 million in public safety funding, city officials rolled back rules prohibiting officers from detaining people due to civil immigration warrants but kept the reporting requirements in place.^[1]

Who said what

• Houston Mayor John Whitmire Out of 300,000 contacts between HPD and citizens, 17 end with ICE involvement, which he called a very small number.^[1]
• HPD Chief Noe Diaz Statistically speaking, calls for service have not changed in the last quarter.^[1]
• Council member Alejandra Salinas No survivor or Houstonian seeking help from the police should have to fear that calling 911 could lead to them or a loved one being detained by ICE, and she called on HPD to explain how calling ICE on crime victims keeps the community safer.^[1]
• Council member Alejandra Salinas HPD is detaining crime victims and calling ICE on crime victims, which is a terrible policy that the administration has refused to change.^[1]