HOUSTON, TX – A number of Houston locals reportedly demanded that more changes be implemented regarding the manner in which Houston Police cooperate with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during a city council meeting earlier in March, arguing in favor of illegal immigrants during the public comment portion.
Earlier in March, Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz announced an update to the policy regarding cooperative endeavors with ICE, namely that police officers who encounter individuals with administrative immigration warrants must contact a supervisor and wait no longer than 30 minutes for federal agents to pick up the individual.
The updated policy came in the wake of alleged incidents where Houston Police officers directly transported suspects with immigration detainers to federal authorities, which was at the time reportedly against HPD policy and caused a stir with local immigration activists.
On March 17th, local immigration activists attended the city council meeting where demands were articulated that more should be done to limit any sort of cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities. One such activist in attendance was attorney Randall Kallinen, who indicated a potential lawsuit she would entertain against the city for cooperating with ICE.
“I make money suing city governments for civil rights violations,” Kallinen stated during the city council meeting, adding, “I don't have a client right now, but there are apparently 17 of them out there,” which the mentioned 17 potential clients alluded to alleged incidents where local police hand-delivered suspected illegal aliens over to ICE.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire had previously admonished the Houston Police Department over these alleged incidents involving illegal aliens being directly transported over to ICE facilities and agents, saying such incidents “will be corrected” by his administration.
However, Mayor Whitmire is not looking to completely abolish working relations with the federal agency over concerns that federal funding will be impacted over an adoption of sanctuary city policies.
Earlier in March, Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz announced an update to the policy regarding cooperative endeavors with ICE, namely that police officers who encounter individuals with administrative immigration warrants must contact a supervisor and wait no longer than 30 minutes for federal agents to pick up the individual.
The updated policy came in the wake of alleged incidents where Houston Police officers directly transported suspects with immigration detainers to federal authorities, which was at the time reportedly against HPD policy and caused a stir with local immigration activists.
On March 17th, local immigration activists attended the city council meeting where demands were articulated that more should be done to limit any sort of cooperation between local police and federal immigration authorities. One such activist in attendance was attorney Randall Kallinen, who indicated a potential lawsuit she would entertain against the city for cooperating with ICE.
“I make money suing city governments for civil rights violations,” Kallinen stated during the city council meeting, adding, “I don't have a client right now, but there are apparently 17 of them out there,” which the mentioned 17 potential clients alluded to alleged incidents where local police hand-delivered suspected illegal aliens over to ICE.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire had previously admonished the Houston Police Department over these alleged incidents involving illegal aliens being directly transported over to ICE facilities and agents, saying such incidents “will be corrected” by his administration.
However, Mayor Whitmire is not looking to completely abolish working relations with the federal agency over concerns that federal funding will be impacted over an adoption of sanctuary city policies.
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