Even children wearing bunny caps will be detained and turned over to ICE.
The recently amended ordinance does not change what HPD was going to do; they had not changed anything in their practices when the previous ordinance was passed. But like I stated last week, I expected the Latinos in the City Council, the ones who call themselves males, to switch their vote. They did. I made a video last week so I could come back and say, “I told you so.” The three were Mario Castillo, Joaquin Martinez, and Julian Ramirez. Ramirez is a Republican and probably received a wake-up call from the MAGA party that he needed to toe the line. At least I kinda understand why the switch, but if he runs as a Republican, he may not get re-elected; if he switches parties, he may not be re-elected. He is probably a good lawyer; he could do defense work or go back to being a prosecutor. I don’t think Teare would make what party you belong to a qualification.
I wonder if the Mayor bothered to tell the council members that he and HPD had sold their souls for thirty coins of silver. The mayor is dumber than he looks, in my opinion. Did he think he could have kept it hidden? He lied for over a year about calling ICE and detaining people.
Did the City Attorney review the contract prior to Whitmire signing the contract?
What is the contract that the City and HPD signed?
Key Terms of the Agreement
- Immigration Cooperation: To receive the grants, Houston must comply with Department of Homeland Security (DHS) programs. Specifically, Governor Abbott stated the city must agree to detain any “illegal immigrant” officers encounter and notify DHS.
- Grant Funding: The state provided approximately $110 million in grants intended for police, fire, and security services, particularly for preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
- Consequences of Non-Compliance: Abbott threatened that if Houston did not repeal or revise ordinances limiting cooperation with ICE, the city would have to:
- Return the $110 million within 30 days.
- Face the withholding of city sales tax revenue by the state comptroller until the debt is repaid.
John Whitmire, after years of denying that HPD was working with ICE, finally admitted it. He kept insisting that people here illegally trust him and the police. What is happening is probably the following;
Domestic violence calls are down.
More people are running away from an accident.
Fewer people are willing to be witnesses.
Fewer people are going to the health department. If the City is cooperating with ICE, why would they limit it to the police?
In a few years, when it is census time, the city will be begging people to come forward and be counted.
There will probably be more people running from the police.
Can they trust the schools? Fewer children will attend school.
This is a free gift article from the Houston Chronicle.
“This is a feeble attempt by the mayor to have his cake and eat it too,” Fife said. “But it dilutes the effectiveness of the original ordinance so as to render it almost meaningless.”
Jennefer Canales-Pelaez, Texas policy attorney and strategist with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, agreed.
“This proposal is effectively a repeal of the ordinance’s provisions that prohibited HPD from making unlawful seizures,” she said. “The Supreme Court in Arizona v. United States said clearly that state officers don’t have power to arrest people for immigration violations. This amendment runs afoul of that by giving HPD virtually no guidance at all on how to respond to ICE warrants, although such papers are clearly not legally enforceable by HPD.”
The amendment, Fife added, appears to redefine what an ICE administrative warrant is in a legally incorrect way. The amendment cuts language saying these “civil” documents are “not probable cause for a criminal arrest,” and instead would define the warrants as “commanding the arrest of an individual.”
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I told you so