Houston City Council members discussed improving their public comment protocols on Wednesday to ensure speakers are better informed of the process, following a rowdy meeting the night before, when only some of the people who had signed up to speak were able to do so.
On Tuesday, more than 70 people signed up to speak during the public comment period, with many signing up to speak out against Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Houston Police Department’s limited coordination with the federal agency. Many of the speakers referenced the deaths of Renee Nicole Good and Alex Pretti — two U.S. citizens killed this month in Minnesota by federal agents.
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Shortly after the meetings started at 5 p.m. on Tuesday, Whitmire said each speaker would be limited to one minute, regardless of how long they had signed up for, because so many people had asked to speak. As people continued to file into the council chambers, the city secretary began reading off the names of those signed up to speak. Since many were not yet present when their names were called, they were unable to speak.
The large audience in attendance grew loud at several moments throughout the meeting, shouting at some points that the council was not doing enough to protect residents from ICE.
After the public comment period concluded, Whitmire adjourned the meeting for the day.
On Wednesday, several city council members spoke about the chaotic meeting the evening before.
At-large Position 2 Council Member Willie Davis said during Wednesday’s meeting that several of the speakers had been disrespectful.
“In light of last night, I do think, Mayor, that the opportunity for citizens to come out and speak is their citizens’ right,” Davis said. “But I’d like to go on record to indicate that the kind of manner by which this was conducted was totally to the extreme, for people to disrespect not only the mayor but even the council. I think last night was not appropriate conduct … and I hope and pray that in the future that we don’t have to witness that kind of display in our counsel.”
District H Council Member Mario Castillo said that the council should possibly look into ways to get people who have signed up to speak into the chamber more quickly.
“As we’ve had a robust turnout at our public sessions, I think it’s a good opportunity to look at some of the ways that we’re doing our security screening,” Castillo said, “making sure folks are getting through the line so that they can get into the chambers.”
District D Council Member Carolyn Evans-Shabazz was one of a handful of council members to speak out against ICE during the meeting and suggested possibly limiting minor stops by local law enforcement.
“A lot of these interactions with ICE began with stopping people at minor traffic stops,” she said. “We can’t stop ICE from being here, but we can certainly stop that interaction. If police officers don’t stop people, then they’re not charged with saying, ‘let me get your ID, let’s check this.’ We’re not trying to protect criminals, certainly, but what’s happening here is just a travesty.”
At-large Position 4 Council Member Alejandra Salinas said she was grateful for the Houstonians who came out to speak Tuesday night.
“It was hard to hear some of those messages, but sometimes democracy is hard, and that’s part of our job here,” Salinas said. “Renee Good was murdered. Alex Pretti was murdered. And those murders are wrong, and know that a lot of us around this [table] are going to do everything in our power to ensure that never happens in the city of Houston.”
Whitmire — speaking in response to At-large Position 3 Council Member Twila Carter, who, in part, blamed the media for spreading fear about ICE — said that while what happened in Minnesota was tragic, fear served “no one’s interest.”
“We do have challenges, and we do have heartache over what’s going on in Minnesota,” Whitmire said, “but we’ve got to continue to emphasize we care, and we’re here, and fear factor serves no one’s interest because it’s not relevant to what being practiced in the city of Houston.”
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