Houston City Council has postponed consideration of a $150 million federal grant tied to immigration enforcement for a third time as questions remain about whether accepting the money could require the city to participate more directly in US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations.
The grant, offered through the US Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Model Cities Initiative, was pulled from the Houston City Council agenda again on Wednesday. As city officials await clarification from federal authorities on the program’s requirements.
Supporters say the city needs the money. Council Member Amy Peck told ABC 13 it would pay for more than $148 million in public safety programs, including efforts to reduce violent crime, teen violence, and domestic violence.
At-Large Position 4 Council Member Alejandra Salinas said concerns arose after council members reviewed DOJ guidance outlining conditions for cities seeking the funding.
“One of the conditions that was most concerning to us are the requirements that we participate in direct operations, specifically immigration operations,” Salinas said. “We read those provisions to say that they would require, if DOJ called on us and we received the grant, to directly participate in ICE operations.”
Salinas said Houston already coordinates with ICE under current city policies, but argued the grant could require a deeper level of involvement.
Mayor John Whitmire downplayed the concern in an interview ith Houston Public Media last Friday. He said the city is seeking clarification, but that HPD’s internal legal analysis found the grant wouldn’t require much beyond current practice: following state law and city ordinances on warrants.
According to Salinas, concerns raised by council members prompted Mayor John Whitmire to seek clarification from the federal government and pull the item from the agenda.
“We still haven’t gotten the answers to these questions,” Salinas said, adding that she was “grateful” the item was pulled for a third time.
Timing is also an issue. DOJ’s deadline for applications was Sept. 1, and a department spokesperson declined to say whether Houston would get an extension when pressed by Houston Public Media.
The delay comes amid a broader debate over Houston’s cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Earlier this year, City Council approved an ordinance aimed at reducing cooperation between the Houston Police Department and ICE while increasing public reporting on immigration-related referrals. The measure was later revised after opposition from Gov. Greg Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton.
Leticia Gutierrez, a Democratic candidate for Texas’ 9th Congressional District, criticized federal immigration enforcement tactics and questioned whether taxpayer dollars are being spent on the community’s most pressing needs.
“El Señor Salgado is everybody’s dad,” she said in reference to Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, who was fatally shot in Houston by ICE on July 7 “That’s my dad. That’s our community.That’s what 80% of this district is about, a hardworking Hispanic community that literally came here for the American dream.”
Gutierrez said she supports deporting people who commit crimes but criticized ICE’s enforcement practices.
“Do I want criminals to be kicked back? Absolutely,” she said. “But the way that ICE is targeting our community and the way that they’re basically just getting trigger happy and then asking questions later is not okay.”
Salinas said council members want written clarification from the federal government before moving forward with the grant application.
“We think this is a bad deal for the city,” she told Courier Texas. “The city has been very clear. We do not want to directly participate in ICE operations. We as a city have to decide what values we have, and it can’t be that someone can you know dangle a carrot of money in front of us, and we’re going to set aside some of our most vulnerable members of our community, who are just as important to our city as everybody else.”
City officials have not announced when the item could return to the council agenda.
