Texas’ biggest city reverses course on ICE, and the agency hits back

Democrat Gina Hinojosa is the first Latina woman elected governor of Texas in the US midterm polls on November 3, 2026. — Getty Images pic via AFP

First Published: Saturday, 07 Nov 2026 10:15 AM MYT

HOUSTON, Nov 7 — The mayor of Houston, Texas announced Friday that the city’s police department will limit its cooperation with federal immigration agents after Democrats swept midterm elections this week.

The so-called “blue tsunami” ousted Republican Governor Greg Abbott, a close Texas ally of US President Donald Trump, who has cracked down on immigration with raids conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents since returning to office last year.

Abbott had threatened in April to revoke US$110 million (RM451 million) in public safety funding from Houston if city officials didn’t walk back a similar measure earlier this year, and city officials complied.

He lost reelection on Tuesday and will be replaced by Democrat Gina Hinojosa, the first Latina woman elected governor of Texas.

Now, Houston Mayor John Whitmire has signed an executive order instructing Houston police to not contact ICE agents when a person is detained for nonviolent offenses, like a traffic stop.

“It’s to reduce the fear and anxiety, not just in some of our communities but across Houston,” Whitmire said during a press conference announcing the change.

The 77-year-old mayor acknowledged that the change could bring some political risks but said he was ready to meet them, as Abbott and other Republicans remain in power until January.

ICE released a statement on X reacting to the change, writing: “Watching child porn and selling heroin are classified as ‘nonviolent offenses’ by the way.”

“This is the Mayor of Houston directly advocating for policies that protect some of the worst criminals in America,” it added.

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, a nonpartisan think tank, Texas has had more arrests carried out by ICE agents during Trump’s second term than any other state, with almost 137,000 recorded as of August 2026.

Texas is also the state with the highest number of ICE detainees in the US, with over 16,000 held at various facilities – more than double the amount held in the second highest state, Louisiana – according to Syracuse University’s Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse. — AFP