Houston mayor signs order to limit cooperation with ICE, says 'elections matter' after Democrats win

The mayor of Houston on Friday said the city would limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, heralding “a new model” of immigration enforcement after Democrats won power in Texas for the first time in decades.

Mayor John Whitmire said the city would go after immigrants “that pose a danger, not those that are going about their family business, work and education.”

A traffic incident "will not even ... you write a citation or you warn them and they go about their way. No contact with (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) over nonviolent, non-jailable offenses. It reduces the fear and anxiety.”

Details of the change were to be spelled out in an executive order, but the move by the nation’s fourth-largest city is one of the first steps to curb ICE’s powers since Tuesday’s election.

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdown in Houston has sparked protests after an ICE officer fatally shot a Mexican homebuilder this summer and another struck a man with a car.

A grand jury last week indicted ICE officer Mario Alberto Morales on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Prosecutors say Morales intentionally rammed his car into Miguel Parra Hernandez, whose leg was broken. ICE has asserted that Parra Hernandez ran in front of the vehicle, an account that prosecutors say is contradicted by video.

Despite a one-time $75 billion infusion from Congress, ICE remains heavily dependent on local police to find people subject to deportation and turn them over. It has done so partly by signing about 2,600 agreements — many in Texas — to deputize local police and other state and local agencies to enforce immigration laws. Texas has been a primary target for ICE arrests.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has closely aligned the state with the Trump administration to collaborate on enforcing federal immigration laws. He lost his bid for a fourth term to Democrat Gina Hinojosa.