Harris County deputies and Houston police officers now have the same marching orders: When they encounter any of 700,000 people recently added by ICE to a national warrant database, they’re supposed to call the immigration enforcement agency and wait.
The policy — implemented in recent weeks after more than 700,000 ICE administrative warrants were added to a database accessible by patrol officers — raises questions for both local and national agencies and outside observers of how long must an officer wait for ICE to show up, how will it affect a patrol officer’s ability to respond to other crimes and how is it constitutional for police to detain someone with no criminal charges.
EXPLAINER: What is ICE doing in Houston? Here’s what to know…