Houston City Council Member Letitia Plummer has drafted a proposal that would allow police officers to decide whether or not to call Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) during traffic stops.
According to the proposal, first reported by the Houston Chronicle, officers would not be required to contact ICE if a background check indicates a possible “ICE hit,” a notice from the National Crime Information Center or Texas Crime Information Center, indicating a detainer or administrative warrant related to immigration.
Houston Public Media independently obtained a copy of the draft proposal, which would also not allow officers to prolong a traffic stop to wait for ICE.
Another measure included in the draft would require the police department to keep a record of how many times officers worked with ICE and produce an annual report with the total amount of interactions.
Plummer, who is currently running in the Democratic primary for Harris County judge, told Houston Public Media Thursday the draft proposal would change the language from officers “shall” contact ICE to officers “may” contact ICE.
“It’s saying, listen, we don’t want to detain our immigrant community if they’ve done nothing harmful,” Plummer said. “This is just a very light way of giving HPD more discretion to allow them to do the right thing.”
For the proposal to be considered at the next city council meeting, Plummer needs two other council members to sign on. Plummer said she has received support from Council Member Tarsha Jackson. Jackson’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding whether she supported the proposal.
Even if the current draft of the proposal were implemented, Douglas Griffith, president of the Houston police officers’ union, said police would still be legally obligated to contact ICE in most situations. Griffith also accused Plummer of using the proposal to gain attention for her county judge campaign.
“This proposal that she put out there is completely off base,” Griffith said. “Who wants people on the streets that have outstanding warrants? It’s been signed by a judge. It’s a lawful arrest warrant. We have to do our jobs. It has nothing to do with cooperating with ICE. It has nothing to do with immigration. We don’t give a damn about any of that.”
Plummer said the proposal is meant to apply only in cases when someone has a civil immigration violation, such as having missed a court hearing.
“It’s allowing our communities to feel like we’re listening to them and they can go to church and they can go to work and go to the grocery store,” she said. “People are not living their lives right now.”
Houston Mayor John Whitmire’s office did not immediately comment on whether or not he would support such a proposal, but did provide a statement from City Attorney Arturo Michel, which said the proposal “cannot be legally implemented.”
“For humanitarian reasons and because of the anxiety it has created in the community, the Mayor and every Council Member who has spoken on the issue of current federal immigration practices are very concerned about the methods being used,” Michel wrote. “Nonetheless, city officials are sworn to uphold the law. … The proposal to change HPD’s general order regarding interactions with federal immigration authorities presents several legal obstacles, based on a preliminary review.”
Earlier this month, Whitmire defended HPD’s coordination with ICE after receiving pushback during a city council meeting.
RELATED: Houston mayor defends HPD coordination with ICE after pushback from council member
Michel also said the proposal would be illegal under Senate Bill 4 — a bill passed by Texas lawmakers in 2023 that allows police to arrest people for crossing the border illegally.
However, Plummer said the proposal would not violate SB4 because it does not limit cooperation with ICE and argued officers already lack the legal authority to detain people based on civil immigration violations.
Although Plummer acknowledged the proposal is unlikely to pass city council in its current form, she said she hopes it opens up some discussion on the issue.
“We can very well refer this to the Public Safety Committee if they want, and then people can chime in and make changes and alter, delete, etc,” she said. “But we have to have a formal conversation, and this proposition allows us to do that.”
Neither the Department of Homeland Security nor ICE immediately responded to a request for comment regarding the proposal.
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