Watson asks APD to rewrite its ICE rules before the new governor takes office. What the current orders say, and what state law still requires

Mayor Kirk Watson has asked Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis to revise the department's rules on cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. He wants the changes ready to take effect when Gov.-elect Gina Hinojosa takes office in January.

Watson posted the request Friday, Nov. 6, on the City Council message board, KUT and CBS Austin reported. He asked Davis to work with the city manager on new general orders, the department's internal rules. He wrote that they should be "effective when the new Governor comes into office" and that "Austin Police should be focused on Austin's public safety." He did not say which provisions should change, CBS Austin reported, and he said any revision must comply with state law, including Senate Bill 4.

How the rules got here

KUT reported this history:

• APD has always notified ICE when an undocumented immigrant has a warrant for, or is accused of, a violent crime.
• In March, the city revised its policy to reduce ICE involvement in local policing after an outcry over a Honduran woman and her 5-year-old daughter. They were arrested and deported after an interaction with APD.
• In April, after Gov. Greg Abbott's administration threatened to withhold state grant money, APD revised the orders again. A related KUT summary put the threatened grants at $2.5 million.

Under the April version, officers should contact ICE "when operationally feasible" when a person in APD custody is subject to an administrative immigration warrant, a civil, noncriminal warrant. KUT reported that Watson said the city will follow SB 4 "for now," because it remains in effect. That 2017 law bars local governments from limiting officers' cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Houston Mayor John Whitmire made a similar announcement the same day, according to KUT.

What others said

Council Member Ryan Alter told CBS Austin, "We have to get back to a point where all our communities feel safe." He said he expects the revisions to mostly adjust wording rather than change day-to-day operations. Michael Bullock, president of the Austin Police Association, told the station, "Until and unless the law is changed, APD is obligated to follow the law."

CBS Austin reported that the city attorney will review the revised orders before they are issued. The department did not comment in either report.

What our records add

The council talked about SB 4 behind closed doors in April. At its April 21 work session, the council went into executive session to discuss legal issues related to SB 4 and "enforcement by local government entities of state and federal immigration laws."

The council voted on a related policy two days later. On April 23, the council approved Council Member Mike Siegel's "Safe to Call" resolution 10-0, with Council Member Natasha Harper-Madison absent. It started a stakeholder process on policies meant to help crime victims and witnesses feel safe calling for help. Siegel said its third topic was administrative warrants. He thanked Davis for amending the general orders to say that detaining someone solely on a non-judicial administrative ICE warrant is not permissible under the Fourth Amendment. Co-sponsors he named included Council Members Vanessa Fuentes, José Velásquez and Zohaib "Zo" Qadri, and Mayor Pro Tem José "Chito" Vela.

A city report flagged the same fear. At an Aug. 25 work session, the city's human rights officer said immigrant and refugee residents fear contacting local police. The briefing recommended clarifying the line between local policing and federal immigration enforcement. Our story on the September ICE shooting in North Austin covers what city officials have said since.

What's next

The revised orders have not been released. Hinojosa takes office in January, and the Legislature convenes the same month. Any change to SB 4 itself would need a new state law. Nothing about the general orders requires a council vote.