Houston, TX Immigration Policy: Sanctuary Policy Preemption (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Houston Code of Ordinances § 34-41
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 2026-0284, April 2026
- Reporting frequency
- Quarterly, to every council member
- State law effect
- Does not limit Tex. Gov't Code § 752.053
- Not a sanctuary policy
- SB4 cooperation with ICE unaffected
Summary
Houston Police Department must send every council member a quarterly public report on immigration enforcement activity, including status inquiries, ICE contacts, and anonymized demographic and location data.
(d)Each council member shall receive a public quarterly memorandum from HPD concerning the use of City resources for immigration enforcement, excluding information that would jeopardize any ongoing criminal investigation or prosecution. The report shall include anonymized records of:(1)Each instance where officers inquired into immigration status...(2)Each instance where officers contacted federal immigration authorities, including ICE, or responded to requests during a field encounter from such federal immigration authorities...
Full Breakdown
Houston Code of Ordinances § 34-41, adopted by Ord. No. 2026-0284 (April 2026), requires HPD to send every council member a quarterly memorandum detailing city-resource use for immigration enforcement. Each report must list, anonymized, every field-encounter immigration-status inquiry and every contact with ICE: including the reason, race/ethnicity data, involved officers' employee numbers, and the ZIP code of the incident. The section also states it does not limit cooperation required under Texas Government Code § 752.053 (SB4), so this is a local transparency and data-reporting measure layered on top of state-mandated cooperation with ICE, not a sanctuary policy.
Violations & Fines
No fines or penalties fall on residents: this is a police-department reporting duty. HPD's compliance is monitored by city council through the mandatory quarterly memoranda, not through citations or court action.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Houston a sanctuary city?
What must HPD report each quarter?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Houston
Texas rules heatmap·Compare Houston to another location·View the Texas immigration policy overview
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