San Antonio Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones said Friday she will ask City Manager Erik Walsh to explore options for ending the San Antonio Police Department's cooperation with Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), the San Antonio Current reported. Her comments came hours after Houston Mayor John Whitmire signed an executive order limiting when Houston police contact ICE. Under that order, police would contact ICE only if a person is arrested for a jailable offense and also has an administrative immigration warrant.
Jones said police officers should stay focused on their mission of keeping the community safe. She said they should not take on responsibilities they are not trained for, which she said can make people afraid to call police.
Abbott's executive actions required local law enforcement agencies to cooperate with federal immigration authorities and notify ICE when officers encountered undocumented immigrants. Abbott lost Tuesday's election. On Thursday, staff for Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa told the Current they did not yet have a policy or statement on how she plans to address those orders or Abbott's Operation Lone Star border initiative. Jones also sent City Council members a memo on Thursday asking for ideas on changing the city's lobbying priorities before the Texas Legislature's session in January.