USA: Mayor of Houston restricts cooperation with ICE

On Friday, he signed an executive order for a "new model" of immigration enforcement. The move comes just days after Democrats won the midterm elections in Texas for the first time in decades. All results of the US midterms can be found here.

According to the order, traffic offenses should no longer automatically lead to contact with ICE. The immigration authorities will no longer be involved in non-violent offenses that do not result in a possible prison sentence. This reduces fears and worries, says Whitmire. Further details are to follow.

The actions of the government under Donald Trump against immigrants and people from immigrant families have also caused protests in the Texas city of Houston. In the summer, an ICE officer shot a man from Mexico, and another Mexican was hit and injured by an ICE vehicle a short time later.

Immigration authorities depend on local police forces to find suspected illegal immigrants. In Texas, some agreements have also been reached between police and ICE for this purpose. The current governor, Greg Abbott, had closely linked his immigration policy to that of the government. In no other US state did ICE arrest more people in 2026 than in Texas: in July there were more than 60,000 people. In the midterm elections, Abbott lost to Democrat Gina Hinojosa.