Houston (United States) (AFP) - The mayor of Houston, Texas, announced on Friday that the city's police department will reduce the scope of its cooperation with federal immigration agency agents, following the Democratic Party's landslide victory in this week's midterm elections.

Published on: 07/11/2026 - 11:27

The Democrats' landslide victory in the elections ousted Republican Governor Greg Abbott, a close ally of President Donald Trump in the state of Texas, where Abbott has pursued a strict immigration policy, including raids by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, since the president's return to the White House last year.

Last April, Abbott threatened to withdraw $110 million in public safety funding from the city of Houston unless city officials reversed a similar action they took earlier the same year, which prompted city officials at the time to comply with his demands.

Abbott lost in Tuesday's elections and will be succeeded by Democrat Gina Hinojosa, becoming the first woman of Latin American origin to be elected governor of Texas.

In this context, Houston Mayor John Whitmire signed an executive order requiring city police not to contact Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents in cases where people are detained for non-violent violations, such as traffic violations.

“The goal is to reduce fear and anxiety, not only in some of our communities, but throughout Houston,” Whitmire said during a press conference announcing this change.

The 77-year-old mayor acknowledged that this change may entail political risks, but stressed his readiness to face them, especially since Abbott and other Republicans will remain in power until January.

For its part, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement Department said in a statement on Ex in response to the decision, “By the way, crimes such as viewing child pornography or selling heroin are classified as ‘non-violent offenses’.”

"This means that the mayor of Houston is directly advocating for policies that provide protection for some of the worst criminals in the United States," she added.

According to the Prison Policy Initiative, an independent think tank, Texas saw the highest number of ICE arrests during Trump's second term of any state, with about 137,000 arrests through August 2026.

Texas has the largest number of detainees held by Immigration and Customs Enforcement in the United States, with more than 16,000 people in various detention facilities, a number that represents more than double the number of detainees in the state of Louisiana, which comes in second place, according to data from the Center for Access to Procedural Records at Syracuse University.

© 2026 AFP

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