Paxton Sues Houston Over Policy Limiting ICE Cooperation (1)

April 16, 2026, 10:36 PM UTCUpdated: April 16, 2026, 10:54 PM UTC

The city of Houston is unlawfully limiting cooperation with federal immigration officials through a new ordinance that cuts down on how long police officers can detain a subject, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) said in a lawsuit announced Thursday.

The ordinance approved April 8 says an Immigration and Customs Enforcement warrant isn’t justification for an arrest or continued detention, a change Paxton says violates a 2017 state law that requires local law enforcement to comply with federal immigration detainer requests. Paxton called Houston a “sanctuary city,” in a news release, which generally indicates a municipality has laws in place ...

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