Houston’s Police Chief Noe Diaz on Tuesday dismissed a question about immigrants hesitating to call police to report crimes or turn in fugitives because of fears they would be turned in to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, saying that the idea was based on a “false narrative.”
Moments later, however, Diaz acknowledged that HPD contacts ICE based on the “circumstances” of the immigration status of people who talk to police.
The comments are the first time that Diaz has spoken publicly about HPD’s procedures on working with immigration enforcement. Since at least April, Houston police officers have been instructed to contact immigration enforcement if a person they encounter has an active immigration warrant…