Questions over how Houston police interact with federal immigration authorities spilled into a heated discussion at City Hall Tuesday, after Police Chief J. Noe Diaz did not appear for a committee meeting where council members expected him to answer questions.<\/p>\n
HPD instead sent Division Manager Jim Mallard to present the department\u2019s first quarterly immigration enforcement report under the city\u2019s amended ordinance.<\/p>\n
The discussion continued hours later during public comment at City Council, where residents demanded answers about HPD\u2019s interactions with ICE.<\/p>\n
The meeting also comes as a federal judge has ordered Daniel Tirado Pantoja, the second detained witness to the fatal ICE shooting of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, to be released from custody.<\/p>\n
Council Member Alejandra Salinas repeatedly questioned why Diaz was not there to discuss HPD\u2019s first quarterly report.<\/p>\n
Later, during City Council, Salinas raised the issue directly with Mayor John Whitmire.<\/p>\n
Salinas said council members, Salgado Araujo\u2019s family, and community members expected Diaz to attend and explain the report.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe were all expecting the Chief of Police to be at council this morning to explain the HPD transparency report,\u201d Salinas said.<\/p>\n
She called his absence a disappointment and asked the administration to bring Diaz before council to answer questions about HPD and ICE.<\/p>\n
Whitmire told council members he was also disappointed Diaz and members of his administration were not at the hearing.<\/p>\n
According to Whitmire, the decision came from the city attorney\u2019s office because Houston is currently facing litigation.<\/p>\n
\u201cI can assure you that the Chief, and certainly I, wanted him here to answer your questions,\u201d Whitmire said.<\/p>\n
The mayor said the city has to protect its legal position as a defendant and said Diaz was following the advice of counsel.<\/p>\n
Whitmire also said the city anticipates additional litigation.<\/p>\n
Salinas pushed back on the explanation.<\/p>\n
She acknowledged Diaz should avoid answering questions specifically involving pending litigation, but argued there were other portions of the report he should still address publicly.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think it is improper to refuse to have the chief come,\u201d Salinas said. \u201cThere are other questions that he can answer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whitmire said Diaz will eventually have an opportunity to speak publicly.<\/p>\n
\u201cNo one, no one wants to tell the facts more than Chief Diaz,\u201d Whitmire said. \u201cAnd he will have that opportunity.\u201d<\/p>\n
The report provides the first set of numbers detailing HPD\u2019s immigration-related contacts since the city amended its ordinance.<\/p>\n
HPD reported 103 immigration-related National Crime Information Center hits during the quarter.<\/p>\n
All 103 resulted in contact with ICE.<\/p>\n
According to the report, 57% of those detained were released at the scene, while 18% were transferred to ICE custody and 13% faced new charges.<\/p>\n
About 1.9% were transferred to a hospital. Another 8% of the immigration-related NCIC hits were ultimately not confirmed.<\/p>\n
HPD reported an average detention time of 39 minutes.<\/p>\n
Because this is the first quarterly report under the amended ordinance, there is no previous quarterly report for comparison. The 103 contacts will serve as a baseline for future reports.<\/p>\n
The amended ordinance requires HPD to provide City Council members with a public memorandum detailing the use of city resources for immigration-related enforcement activities.<\/p>\n
The report is required to include anonymized information about instances where officers inquire into immigration status or contact federal immigration authorities.<\/p>\n
The required information includes the reason for the stop or detention, whether a warrant or detainer was involved, detention times, the number of officers involved and the general location by ZIP code.<\/p>\n
Information that would compromise an active criminal investigation or prosecution is excluded.<\/p>\n
The debate continued during City Council\u2019s public comment period.<\/p>\n
Several speakers called for an end to HPD\u2019s interactions with ICE and demanded more information from city leaders.<\/p>\n
One speaker specifically criticized Diaz for not appearing at the earlier hearing, saying residents had gone there expecting answers.<\/p>\n
The speaker ended her remarks with repeated chants of \u201cICE out of Houston.\u201d<\/p>\n
Whitmire later responded to calls for ICE to leave Houston.<\/p>\n
The mayor said city leaders do not have a plan to force a federal law enforcement agency out of Houston.<\/p>\n
Whitmire also said city services are provided to Houston residents regardless of immigration status.<\/p>\n
Ronaldo Salgado, the son of Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, was among those who addressed council members.<\/p>\n
Salgado Araujo was shot and killed by an ICE agent during an immigration enforcement operation on Canal Street in Houston\u2019s East End in July.<\/p>\n
\u201cTomorrow will be 50 days since my dad, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, was killed at the hands of ICE,\u201d his son told council members. \u201cMy family and our community are patiently waiting for some answers and some changes to make sure this never happens again.\u201d<\/p>\n
Salgado also called on Houston police leaders to appear publicly and answer questions.<\/p>\n
\u201cDemand our local police leaders to show up and face the noise. Answer the hard questions,\u201d Salgado said.<\/p>\n
He told council members he believes HPD needs to rebuild trust with immigrant residents.<\/p>\n
SECOND WITNESS IN DEADLY ICE SHOOTING ORDERED RELEASED<\/p>\n
As the debate continues at City Hall, there is also a new development involving the investigation into Salgado Araujo\u2019s death.<\/p>\n
A federal judge has ordered Daniel Tirado Pantoja released from immigration custody.<\/p>\n
Court records show Pantoja must be released within 48 hours of the order filed Monday.<\/p>\n
The order requires authorities to release Pantoja in a public location within the Southern District of Texas and give his attorneys three hours\u2019 notice before his release.<\/p>\n
Pantoja was one of three other men inside Salgado Araujo\u2019s van when the deadly encounter with ICE happened.<\/p>\n
Jos\u00e9 Trinidad Rojas Pliego was the first witness ordered released.<\/p>\n
U.S. District Judge Keith Ellison ordered Rojas Pliego released from ICE detention in July. He was released July 30.<\/p>\n
Rojas Pliego, Pantoja and V\u00edctor Hugo Salgado Araujo, Lorenzo Salgado Araujo\u2019s brother, were all taken into immigration custody following the shooting.<\/p>\n
With Pantoja now ordered released, two of the three witnesses have received release orders.<\/p>\n
V\u00edctor Hugo Salgado Araujo remains in immigration detention.<\/p>\n
Like Pantoja and Rojas Pliego, he has filed a petition seeking release from custody.<\/p>\n
He is the only one of the three witnesses who has not received a release order.<\/p>\n
DHS has said Salgado Araujo crashed into an ICE law enforcement vehicle, refused multiple verbal commands and used his vehicle in an attempt to run over an ICE officer.<\/p>\n
Statements from witnesses submitted in federal court dispute the government\u2019s description of what happened.<\/p>\n
Rojas Pliego and another passenger said ICE officers were positioned along the sides of the van.<\/p>\n
The ICE officers involved did not have body cameras or dash cameras, leaving the accounts from the men inside the van central to questions surrounding the shooting.<\/p>\n
The release order for Pantoja and the continued detention of V\u00edctor Hugo Salgado Araujo come as Salgado Araujo\u2019s family continues to seek answers about the shooting, while Houston City Council members press HPD for answers about the department\u2019s interactions with federal immigration authorities.<\/p>\n
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