HOUSTON, TX - A member of the Houston City Council issued a proposal to change the current Houston Police Department (HPD) policy on ICE warrants, and the police union calls it "impossible."
Houston City Council Member Letitia Plummer is pushing to revise HPD's policy on when officers contact federal immigration authorities. She claims that the proposal would give officers more discretion without violating state law, according to Click2Houston.
The Houston Police Union, however, does not agree and argues that the proposed change cannot happen and is not needed. The union said that ICE has picked up only eight people this year after HPD contacted the agency about open warrants.
Under HPD's current general order, officers "shall contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if a background check through NCIC/TCIC (National Crime Information Center and Texas Crime Information Center) returns a possible hit from ICE regarding a wanted or detained."
This means that when officers run a person's name and a warrant appears, administrative or criminal, they are required to contact the agency that issued it, including immigration authorities.
Plummer wants that requirement softened. Her proposal would change the wording from "shall contact ICE" to "may contact ICE," allowing individual officers to determine whether the warrant requires ICE involvement. "The officer would have the discretion to say, we don't need to report this to ICE because it's a low-level violation," Plummer said.
"Very simple wording, but it changes it tremendously in terms of what their level of discretion is." Plummer reportedly began reviewing the department's policies after a June domestic violence case where the victim herself had an ICE warrant.
Critics of her proposal questioned whether giving officers discretion would conflict with Texas Senate Bill 4, the new state law allowing law enforcement to arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally. Plummer says the revision is fully compliant.
"The revision complies with Texas Senate Bill 4 by not prohibiting or materially limiting cooperation with ICE, only prohibiting unconstitutional detention," she said. "We were very careful about protecting not only our HPD officers but [also] protecting our immigrant community."
She stressed that the goal is not to restrict the police. "We're not preventing HPD from doing their job. I mean, clearly, we want to keep Houston safe in every way possible," Plummer said. The Houston Police Officers' Union strongly opposes the change. Union President Doug Griffith argues that officers cannot legally ignore warrants issued by any agency, local or federal.
"What she's asking us to do is basically illegal," Griffith said. "If you have an open warrant, you have to contact the agency ... no matter if it's Harris County, Fort Bend County, Austin County, or ICE."
Griffith said officers already follow a consistent and lawful process. They notify the issuing agency, wait for direction, and document the encounter if that agency declines to take custody. "If they want them, we'll hold them ... If not, we document it and let them go," he said. "That's exactly what we do with ICE."
He also argued that changing HPD's policy could risk federal and state funding. He said Plummer's proposal is unnecessary because the number of people actually detained due to ICE warrants is extremely small. He said the low number shows HPD is not engaged in mass detentions tied to immigration status.
Plummer needs one more council member's signature to advance the proposal for formal discussion. Even then, she does not expect the idea to go to a vote immediately. "I don't expect this document to get voted on," she said. "I expect this to now be a formal conversation to where we refer it to a committee."
Houston City Council Member Letitia Plummer is pushing to revise HPD's policy on when officers contact federal immigration authorities. She claims that the proposal would give officers more discretion without violating state law, according to Click2Houston.
The Houston Police Union, however, does not agree and argues that the proposed change cannot happen and is not needed. The union said that ICE has picked up only eight people this year after HPD contacted the agency about open warrants.
Under HPD's current general order, officers "shall contact U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) if a background check through NCIC/TCIC (National Crime Information Center and Texas Crime Information Center) returns a possible hit from ICE regarding a wanted or detained."
This means that when officers run a person's name and a warrant appears, administrative or criminal, they are required to contact the agency that issued it, including immigration authorities.
Plummer wants that requirement softened. Her proposal would change the wording from "shall contact ICE" to "may contact ICE," allowing individual officers to determine whether the warrant requires ICE involvement. "The officer would have the discretion to say, we don't need to report this to ICE because it's a low-level violation," Plummer said.
"Very simple wording, but it changes it tremendously in terms of what their level of discretion is." Plummer reportedly began reviewing the department's policies after a June domestic violence case where the victim herself had an ICE warrant.
Critics of her proposal questioned whether giving officers discretion would conflict with Texas Senate Bill 4, the new state law allowing law enforcement to arrest people suspected of crossing the border illegally. Plummer says the revision is fully compliant.
"The revision complies with Texas Senate Bill 4 by not prohibiting or materially limiting cooperation with ICE, only prohibiting unconstitutional detention," she said. "We were very careful about protecting not only our HPD officers but [also] protecting our immigrant community."
She stressed that the goal is not to restrict the police. "We're not preventing HPD from doing their job. I mean, clearly, we want to keep Houston safe in every way possible," Plummer said. The Houston Police Officers' Union strongly opposes the change. Union President Doug Griffith argues that officers cannot legally ignore warrants issued by any agency, local or federal.
"What she's asking us to do is basically illegal," Griffith said. "If you have an open warrant, you have to contact the agency ... no matter if it's Harris County, Fort Bend County, Austin County, or ICE."
Griffith said officers already follow a consistent and lawful process. They notify the issuing agency, wait for direction, and document the encounter if that agency declines to take custody. "If they want them, we'll hold them ... If not, we document it and let them go," he said. "That's exactly what we do with ICE."
He also argued that changing HPD's policy could risk federal and state funding. He said Plummer's proposal is unnecessary because the number of people actually detained due to ICE warrants is extremely small. He said the low number shows HPD is not engaged in mass detentions tied to immigration status.
Plummer needs one more council member's signature to advance the proposal for formal discussion. Even then, she does not expect the idea to go to a vote immediately. "I don't expect this document to get voted on," she said. "I expect this to now be a formal conversation to where we refer it to a committee."
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Comments
2025-11-22T17:01-0500 | Comment by: EDWARD
That's the way sanctuary policies and cities get started. How do you break up law and order? One little word at a time.