Houston police transferred 17 people to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from July through September, according to city data released Wednesday. Of 88 undocumented residents police encountered in that period, 58 were released on scene, and 13 were charged with a crime unrelated to immigration and taken to the county jail. The report was released under a requirement passed by city council earlier this year. The transfer figure was slightly lower than in the city's July report.
The one-page report says 0.03% of the roughly 300,000 calls HPD received that quarter were ICE-related. Mayor John Whitmire said at a press conference that the number of ICE involvements is very small and that saying otherwise is wrong. The report also says undocumented residents were detained for an average of 46 minutes, up from 39 minutes in the previous report. Whitmire and Police Chief Noe Diaz said they were not concerned about the increase, and Diaz said detention times vary by situation. City officials have acknowledged the detention figure was calculated using a manual method that is not tracked for other call types.
The city is facing a lawsuit over whether detaining people solely on a civil immigration warrant, rather than a criminal charge, violates their constitutional rights. Council Member Alejandra Salinas, who led the effort to require the quarterly report, said she remains concerned about HPD's interactions with ICE. She said the new data appears to suggest HPD may be contacting ICE as a result of calls for service, and she urged police leaders to explain why calling ICE on crime victims would be appropriate.