Hundreds of public commenters urge Houston council to end HPD collaboration with ICE, demand transparency and legal funding

A steady stream of speakers at the Houston City Council’s Aug. 27 evening meeting urged elected officials to end cooperation between the Houston Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and to take several concrete steps community groups said would reduce deportations.

Speakers from Houston Leads, the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and more than 30 neighborhood and faith organizations told the council that local cooperation with ICE is done “above and beyond” what state law requires, that HPD has made discretionary calls to ICE on low-level matters, and that the lack of transparent data prevents public oversight.

"Compared to the cumulative number in the past four years, HPD has called ICE three times as many times in this year alone," told the council, Patricia Chen, a speaker identified in the public comment list. Katie (Katie Merdza), representing the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and the Houston Leads Coalition, said local governments have discretionary authority and should choose to limit collaboration. "If Houston truly stands with immigrant community members, we must make it our utmost priority to put an end to any discretionary collaboration," she said.

Speakers demanded: immediate, public disclosure of HPD-ICE interactions; a city pledge to stop voluntary information sharing beyond state requirements; funding to match Harris County’s $2 million commitment to the Immigration Legal Services Fund for legal defense; and a city push to bar airlines that work with ICE from using local airports — repeatedly naming Avelo Airlines.

Diego Castillo, a community organizer, quantified community demands during his statement: "58 calls have been made by ICE to HPD" and said many in detention had no criminal convictions, citing figures from organized advocates. Commenters gave multiple examples they said showed the problem: a domestic-violence survivor who called police and was then reported to ICE; motorists detained after minor traffic infractions; and accounts of people taken during routine interactions.

Council response during the session was cautious: several members thanked speakers, said they would meet with coalition representatives and noted limits imposed by state law. Some council members and the mayor signaled openness to transparency measures and to funding talks, while none of the speakers’ demands was resolved by vote during the evening session.

"The city should be compiling this information and explaining to the public what you are doing to protect your constituents," Rob Block, speaking for Houston Leads, told the council.

Community groups said they would continue to press the council for a public dashboard, ordinance language limiting non-safety traffic stops, expanded funding for immigration legal services, and a formal statement against airlines that contract with ICE. Several council offices invited speakers to follow-up meetings. No ordinance or formal resolution on HPD-ICE cooperation was taken during the Aug. 27 meeting; the topic remains in the public-comment and advocacy phase.