Just a few days ago, in front of a crowd that leans to the far right, John Whitmire had the following to say.
As I previously wrote two little mice came out and squeaked and were quickly put in their place by their master, today.
Houston Mayor John Whitmire acknowledged Saturday that the city is cooperating with federal immigration authorities after denying for months that Houston police would get involved with immigration enforcement.
Whitmire, speaking to a largely friendly audience of about 250 people, lauded Houston’s diversity and the contributions that immigrants bring to the city, but said that other cities were in “turmoil.” He said that some level of cooperation with the Trump administration was necessary to keep Houston from suffering the same fate.
“I’m not going to say that we’re not cooperating with ICE, because that’s frankly not true,” Whitmire said.
Whitmire then shared an anecdote about how an unnamed official recently urged him to try to get Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers out of Houston’s public spaces. The mayor said that he couldn’t do that, because the Trump administration would send 500 more officers in response.
Whitmire, however, has been vague about the city’s involvement in immigration enforcement when asked, saying that Houston does not “deal with immigration” but admitting that officers have an obligation to call agencies that issue warrants.
Today at City Council, Mayor Whitmire changed his tune. Which John Whitmire do we believe?
For months, Whitmire has said HPD doesn’t participate in immigration operations, even as ICE has carried out large-scale operations across the Houston area. But remarks the mayor reportedly made at a public event suggested the relationship may be more complicated.
Whitmire reportedly told the audience, “I’m not going to say we’re not cooperating with ICE, because that’s frankly not true.”
Those words prompted swift criticism online from Council Member Mario Castillo and others who said the public deserved a clearer explanation. On Wednesday, councilmembers again pressed the mayor to explain.
Inside council chambers, Whitmire rejected what he called overheated rhetoric and said nothing about HPD’s approach has changed.
It is disingenuous for Whitmire to blame other people for the immigrant community losing their trust of the Houston Police Department, when he is the one responsible for the fear that the immigrant community now has of the police.
Too many incidents where ICE has been called by HPD officers when there was no need to do so. I go with the politician that being John Whitmire is speaking with a forked tongue.
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HCC Trustee Adriana Tellez stands up for the Hispanic Community. The two little mice should pay more attention to people like her.
During the public comment session at the beginning of the meeting, Adriana Tellez criticized the agency’s actions.
“We have seen mothers and fathers with no warrants, with no criminal records dragged out of their cars in front of their children,” Tellez said. “Trying to provide for their family is not a crime.”