PRESS STATEMENT
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Abraham Espinosa
Director of Higher Education
Cell: 832-526-2479
E-Mail: abespinosa
Alain Cisneros (Español)
Campaigns Coordinator
Cell: 281-837-9857
Email: acisneros
HOUSTON BENDS TO THE WILL OF THE STATE.
Puts money before people and community safety.
[Houston, TX April 22nd] – On Wednesday. April 22 nd , 2026, the City Council of Houston, one of the nation’s most diverse city, held a special session to vote on an amendment that would change the wording of Proposition A. A city ordinance that was passed two weeks ago that limited the interaction between HPD and ICE. It was designed to protect our already vulnerable community and to uphold and protect our 4 th amendment right against prolonged detentions.
Now, the Governor of Texas decided to challenge Houston’s autonomy and threaten to withhold $100 million dollars in state funding, much of it which will go for public safety. This caused Mayor Whitmire, the alleged leader of our great city to backtrack and try to repeal this ordinance. According to city officials, he reached an agreement with the state and proposed an amendment that would change some of the language of the original ordinance. Now, the city attorney stated that the language does not change the functionality of the ordinance but we feel like the changes make the language of the ordinance more vague and strips the main purpose of it which was to limit the cooperation between HPD and ICE.
Regardless, the amendment pass 13-4 today. We feel the changes are unnecessary and do nothing more than to confuse and further alienate an already vulnerable community. It is clear, as stated by many council members, that this was just an attempt to save the funding that was used a pollical weapon against our city.
“We are disappointed that our city leaders, in particularly the mayor, bended to the will of the state and the Governor. It is particularly infuriating that the Governor used state funding to enact his own will and agenda when a majority of Houstonians and Texans support ordinances like Proposition A. Which begs the question as to who does the Governor of Texas really serve? His constituents? Or the Federal Government that it historically resisted intervention from in the past? It is hypocritical to tout a belief in law and order but then threatens funding that would effectively defund our police. Houston just let the entire state know that city’s can be bullied into submission and that at the end of the day, money matters more than human beings.” – Abraham Espinosa, FIEL Houston.
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FIEL Houston 