ICE, Texas
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U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Houston field office announced it arrested 277 people over a two-week period in April who the agency says were in the country without legal authorization and had prior criminal convictions.
The revision appears to allow police officers to detain people due to civil immigration warrants, undoing the original ordinance passed earlier in the month.
Gov. Greg Abbott says Houston is in breach of contract and must repay Texas $110 million or repeal its sanctuary-type ordinance limiting ICE cooperation.
Immigrants with DACA were protected from deportation, but since Trump’s return, the government has arrested nearly 300 DACA recipients, including 75 in Texas.
For much of President Donald Trump’s second term, Texas city leaders have avoided opposing his immigration crackdown, but that’s changing — and sparking tensions with the state.
Meenu Batra, Texas’s only licensed Punjabi, Hindi and Urdu court interpreter, alleges she was treated “like a criminal” after being detained by ICE, raising concerns over due process and enforcement practices.
The ordinance passed last week prohibits Houston police from detaining people solely for civil immigration warrants.