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Austin police add new rules for ICE warrants
The Austin Police Department quietly posted new rules this week for how officers handle immigration warrants from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Under the updated policy, an officer cannot arrest or detain someone based only on an ICE administrative warrant. If no criminal charge exists, the officer must call a supervisor before doing anything.
Any ICE request to hold a person then goes up the chain of command, from a watch lieutenant to a duty commander who makes the final call.
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A deportation in January sparked the change
On Jan. 5, 2026, Austin police responded to a predawn disturbance call in southwest Austin. Officers ran a background check on the woman who called and found she had an active ICE administrative warrant…