A proposal intended to cut back on coordination between the Houston Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) must be revised, the city of Houston’s legal department found on Thursday.
The proposal — spearheaded by city council members Alejandra Salinas, Abbie Kamin and Edward Pollard — would give HPD officers discretion over whether or not to notify ICE about civil immigration warrants. Under current policy, officers must contact ICE when they encounter “administrative warrants,” which unlike criminal warrants are issued by ICE and not signed by a judge or magistrate.
The ordinance would also prohibit officers from detaining people or lengthening traffic stops solely because of an ICE administrative warrant…