HOUSTON — Houston police transferred 17 people to federal immigration custody between July 1 and Sept. 30, according to a newly released quarterly report that is renewing debate over the city’s cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
The report recorded 292,975 checks of people through the National Crime Information Center during the three-month period. Eighty-eight checks produced immigration-related matches or contacts with ICE—about 0.03% of the total, according to Univision Houston’s review of the document.
Of those 88 encounters, 58 people were released at the scene, 17 were transferred to ICE custody and 13 were taken to jail on charges unrelated to immigration. The 17 transfers represented about 0.006% of all NCIC checks during the quarter.
The report also shows that the average detention lasted 46 minutes, up from 39 minutes in the previous quarterly report. The summary does not separate detention times based on whether someone was released, jailed on another charge or turned over to federal agents.
ABC13 reported that the data were released Wednesday, Oct. 28, under a city ordinance requiring public accounting of HPD’s immigration-related contacts.
Transparency requirement followed policy dispute
Houston City Council adopted the reporting requirement earlier this year after debate over how long local officers should hold people when an ICE administrative warrant appears in a federal database. The city later revised portions of the policy following pressure from state officials, but the quarterly disclosure mandate remained.
An HPD directive issued April 23 says a sergeant must respond when an officer receives an ICE administrative-warrant match. Officers must verify the match with the ICE Law Enforcement Support Center and may wait a reasonable amount of time for a federal agent while completing the legitimate purpose of the original stop or investigation. The directive says HPD personnel may not transport someone solely because of an ICE administrative warrant.
This is the second public report under the ordinance. During the earlier April-through-June period, HPD documented 103 immigration-related contacts, with 59 people released and 19 transferred to ICE, according to The Texas Tribune.
Debate centers on trust and public safety
Mayor John Whitmire and Police Chief Noe Diaz have emphasized that immigration-related encounters make up a very small share of HPD’s overall activity. Councilmember Alejandra Salinas, who pushed for the transparency requirement, has argued that the details still matter—especially if police contact ICE during calls involving crime victims or witnesses.
The latest report does not provide enough public detail to determine the circumstances behind every encounter. That limitation leaves unresolved questions about how often immigration checks arise during traffic stops, service calls, investigations or arrests.
Supporters of continued reporting say the quarterly data give residents and council members a way to measure how city resources are used and whether HPD’s practice changes over time. The next report will provide another comparison point as Houston continues to balance local policing priorities, state requirements, federal immigration enforcement and community trust.
