The chair recognizes Mayor Pro Tem Castax Tatum for a proclamation honoring the 2026 City of Houston cycling team.

Thank you, Vice Mayor Pro Tim Peck.

Mayor and Council members, it is my distinct honor to welcome the City of Houston cycling team for the 41st annual Texas Bike MS 150.

If the representatives from the team would come forward.

So every year we love to uh celebrate the team and wish them the very best before they actually go on the ride.

And the proclamation reads, whereas from April 25th through April 26, 2026, the City of Houston proudly cheers on its City of Houston cycling team as it participates for the 13th consecutive year in the 41st annual Texas Bike MS 150 fundraising ride to support multiple sclerosis research in the national multiple sclerosis society.

And whereas MS is a chronic neurological illness that affects the brain and spinal cord, impacting nearly one million people in the United States and nearly three million people worldwide.

As an autoimmune disorder, the body's immune system mistakenly attacks healthy tissue.

Whereas to advance understanding the treatment of this illness, the National MS Society conducts research, provides services to those affected, includes specialized MS clinics, education and information, home and vehicle modifications, emergency financial assistance, medical supplies, home care, support groups, and family programs empowering individuals to live more independently and confidently.

Whereas in support of this noble mission, the National MS Society, Lone Star Chapter annually organizes the Texas MS 150, a two-day fundraising cycling ride that began in 1985.

Historically, the largest of its kind in North America, the ride attracts more than 13,000 cyclists, is supported by over 3,500 volunteers and raises more than 20 million dollars each year for MS research.

Whereas with various starting points across the state, including Houston's Energy Corridor, this year's Texas MS 150 ride will conclude at Kyle Field and College Station.

The City of Houston cycling team is honored to participate once again, proudly representing their city and having raised more than 300,000 to date in support of the cause.

And whereas, as the team prepares for the Texas MS 150, the City of Houston, along with all residents, heartily commends each member of the City of Houston cycling team for their dedication and extends best wishes for a successful and safe ride towards finding a cure for MS.

Mayor.

Thank you very much, Mayor Pro Tem Castric Tatum, and thank you for allowing us to recognize the City of Houston Texas MS 150 today fundraising cycling ride.

And if you look at the diversity of our team, and it represents all of us at City Hall, all across this great city.

So thank you.

And we wish you well and be safe.

Therefore, our John Ritmeyer, mayor of the City of Houston hereby proclaim April 21st, 2026 as Texas MS-150 City of Houston cycling team in this great city.

Thank you.

Congratulations.

Thank you very much.

Thank you very much, Mayor.

As always, we appreciate your support.

I want to just have a shout out for the team.

Thank you to Greg and Sean.

They do all the work.

I I've been trying to ride for uh a few years.

I just hadn't made it yet.

Uh I keep telling them that I'm I'm going to.

Uh, but uh let me let me yield a mic so that I can let uh uh the leader Sean uh have a few words.

Thank you all for your support.

Good afternoon.

I just want to say just a quick word of thank you.

Uh first of all to our amazing riders.

We are 35 strong this year.

Um these amazing riders this year alone have raised over 22,000 for this cause.

So again, another hand of applause for that.

Um thank you to our executive team are leading us and empowering us to to sponsor this event.

Thank you to Signal uh for their support and sponsorship.

Uh thank you um Pro Tim Castix Tatum for your support as well, uh yours as well, uh Mayor.

We couldn't do this as a collateral effort, it shows the strength of our city employees and our um ability to give back.

We put our minds to it.

So thank you to everyone involved.

Very nice.

Mayor Pro Tem Mayor Pro Tem, we do have um Councilmember in the queue, Council Martin Keatman.

Thank you all so much.

First off, to the entire city of Houston team, thank you, ride safe.

Um, for those of us that have friends um with MS, uh, I can't tell you the difference that you're making in the lives of so many families.

I also, Mayor, wanted to recognize uh standing at the very back is our own colleague, uh, Councilmember Ramirez, who will also be joining the team this year.

Uh Count Councilmember, you're certainly in better shape than I am, but to all of you, please, please ride safe and thank you for the difference that you're making.

Congratulations to everyone doing this.

I've done it before with the City of Houston team.

I know how hard it is, so good luck to everyone and stay safe.

The chair recognizes Mayor Whitmeyer, who will recognize National Library Week.

Thank you.

Today is National Library Workers' Day in the city of Houston.

Our library system is one of our most valuable city services, stretching across our great city.

Miss Gal and her team is taking it to a total new level.

Ms.

Gal comes out of the educational system.

She was an outstanding principal in our city.

And when we were looking for someone that would motivate Houstonians, particularly our young people to use our libraries.

She hit the ground running.

And so not only does she run the libraries, she has to lead a great team.

But also she's she hosts us at the library across the street on a regular basis.

So certainly she's profiled our libraries.

And it's so special to have this recognition and all of our librarians and employees.

Because I do hear from the our diverse communities.

And she has provided language language skills and the technology to make our libraries one of the best.

So thank you, Ms.

Gow, your team.

Therefore, I John Whitmire, Mayor of the City of Houston, hereby recognize April 21st, 2026 is National Library Workers' Day in the City of Houston.

Thank you, ma'am.

Hello, everyone.

Thank you.

Um the honors ours.

Thank you to the mayor, city council, and city of Houston.

We have these wonderful workers here today.

I know not everyone could come because they have to be on duty, so uh, but a lot of them are watching through HTV.

So we span across 600 square miles, 44 locations, from neighborhood libraries, regional libraries to tech links, offering services from the little ones to the youth to adults, all the way to senior citizens, making impact day in and day out.

And so we cannot do it without your support, mayor's support, and most of all, the great workers who bring life and spirit into our system.

And when I tell you that they are the heartbeat of the system, they do everything possible to provide services for people who on demand requests sometimes, and we do everything we can to accommodate, and especially with the programming they do and all the services that they um that they work on and what may seem like um little small moments.

Sometimes they will never know.

But these special moments and these lasting impact, the lasting impact that they that they provide day in and day out, and most of all, I'm incredibly proud to be part of this wonderful team, and for embracing me September 6th will be two years.

And without the support of the library system, the mayor city council Houston, we will not be here today.

So thank you again.

Thank you again for recognizing today as National Library Worker Day.

Thank you, team.

Mayor, we do have a few council members in the queue.

Councilmember Keyman.

Sure.

Thank you, Mayor, for bringing this proclamation.

Uh director, uh, thank you for all the support that you provide in the leadership.

Uh a lot of times at the horseshoe, we're talking about the needs of our libraries uh from a facilities perspective.

But regardless of the challenges, you all show up every single day to support our families, whether it's through educating adults uh and parents.

One of my favorite programs is the partnership with the Barbabush Literacy Foundation and the support we provide for parents and for young children.

But I always like to share the story of my grandfather who was uh whose parents were immigrants and could not read or write, his brothers and sisters would walk with you know holes in their shoes, they put cardboard in it, and one of the only places they could get air conditioning at the time here in Houston was at the Houston Public Library, and it was through the libraries that they were educated and became their own successes, and for each generation, you all continue to inspire to lift up and to serve our communities in so many ways.

So, really, from the bottom of my heart, thank you for what you do for our families here in Houston.

Councilmember Thomas.

But know that you have tremendous support at the horseshoe for the Houston Public Library system.

And so thank you for being advocates and ambassadors on behalf of our city.

So it is one of the happy spaces in the city of Houston.

And families, individuals can all experience something incredible at our Houston public libraries.

And that is due to the incredible staff that works in the library.

Councilmember Martinez.

Thank you, Vice Member Pro Tem.

And I just want to jump in as well with all the accolades to the to the team, the library team.

Thank you for the work that y'all do day in, day out, the outreach I've had uh opportunity to bring y'all to different community events.

Um and just showcasing a lot of the work that is being done, not just the library with books, right, but everything else that y'all that comes with it as well.

I do want to highlight your leadership though, uh, director.

Um prior to taking office, there is a disconnect with the community and on on the uh Hispanic Research Center.

And you've really taken a hold of that and have shown up as well at these meetings.

And honestly, uh, but for you, we wouldn't be where we are now in the community looking at what a great opportunity that we're gonna have uh with the Hispanic Research Center.

So thank you for your leadership.

Um as Councilmir Thomas said you have a great team, but definitely starts it starts at the top.

Thank you.

Congratulations again.

Um I agree with everything that everyone said it uh our libraries are so important.

So thank you to everyone for all of the great work that you do.

Thank you.

Thank you.

The chair recognizes Councilmember Martinez for a proclamation recognizing Magpies and Peacocks for 15 years of work in Houston.

Thank you, Vicemar Pro Tim.

If I could have Sarah Jane and Ashia come up.

As they make their way, I just want to say that I'm proud to recognize Magpies and Peacock today for their incredible 15 years of innovation and impact rooted in the East End.

They have created employment pathways, particularly for women, survivors of trauma and undeserved underserved communities, while serving hundreds of Houston area partners.

It's an honor to celebrate their contributions and present them with City of Houston Proclamation for their continued dedication to people and the planet.

So I'll go ahead and kick it off.

Whereas on March the 11th, 2026, Magpi Magpies and Peacock celebrates a crystal anniversary, marking 15 years as national pioneer in sustainable fashion, textile diversion, and community centered design dedicated to the collection and reuse of post-consumer textiles diverted from the landfills to reduce waste in the fashion industry and its environmental impact.

And whereas, as it celebrates the milestone, MagPies and Peacocks looks ahead to continue innovation and collaborations, including work with FIFA Fanfest on textile reclaim reclaiming uh reclamation following the 2026 World Cup in Houston, and whereas on April 21st, 2026, as MagPies and Peacock is lauded at the Houston at Houston City Hall, the City of Houston hereby congratulates and recognizes the decision, the design house along with its staff and patrons for their 15 years of contribution to advancing circular fashion, workforce opportunities, and sustainability.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Thank you for the leadership of that.

It's really just another example of what makes Houston a great city.

Y'all do it quietly effectively and have done so for 15 years.

Thank you.

Therefore, I have John Whitmore, mayor of the city of Houston, hereby proclaim April 21st, 2026 is MagPass and Peacock Days in Houston, Texas.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you so much.

Why not New York City?

Why not Los Angeles, Chicago?

Cities we love, but this is our home.

And we said if we can do it in Houston, we can do it anywhere.

So while neither one of us were born in Texas, we're Texans.

Vogue, British Vogue, WWD, BOF, but we bring it back to Houston because we know what the city can do, what the people of Houston can do.

So we're proud to call this home.

As Mayor Whitmaier just said, we do it quiet and stealth.

375 tons, our small nonprofit.

That's just us.

Divert it.

But we love FanFest.

Can you reclaim PGA just called?

People are understanding what waste does to our environment.

We're also making livelihoods for people.

Government workers typically make three dollars a day.

East End Proud.

We make everything here.

We letting the world know that Houston is the place to be.

And massive thanks to Councilman Martinez, he came to one event and probably was like, I'm never coming back.

Thank you to Mayor Whitmai and a huge thank you to our staff who will be coming up.

Without them, we couldn't do it.

And to this young lady here, our founding president, Sarah Jane Smith, who came across the pond 20 plus years ago and said, Hey, everything is bigger in Texas, let's do this big.

Thank you, appreciate it.

Okay, I'm still working on the Texan accent, by the way.

But so appreciative.

Honestly, you don't know how hard it's been to get here, but um pushing a square wheel up a hill is what we do the best.

So we appreciate the recognition and the support that this may bring.

So much appreciated to all of you.

Thank you.

Councilmember Martinez, before we do photos, um, Councilmember Alcorn.

I just want to say thanks, uh Joaquin for bringing this.

I love clothes.

I I feel like this is this proclamation's gonna uh make me spend some money.

Uh I've been on your website, great stuff.

I mean, this is so exciting that you're they're thinking about the environment, and we're all just getting rid of clothes, and what what a great thing you're what what a great thing you're doing.

Thanks for this.

How'd you get the name?

Do you really want to go there?

I really want to go there.

Okay, well, a magpie, black white bird collects shiny objects, any objects, they see beauty and everything, and line their nests with all kinds of trash that just looks pretty.

So that was a good inspiration for the thrifty collector and all of us on the magpie because it's the pay to peacock because it's showy and beautiful and got it.

That's kind of the mode of when we transform things.

Yeah, great.

Thanks.

Very good.

Thank you.

Thank you, Vice Mayor Pro Tim.

Um, come on up.

What an honor to bring this proclamation today.

Um, you know, I always tell anyone if if you want to really learn something, go and talk to a few family uh members of those victims of crime.

And Crime Stoppers is certainly one of the uh our most treasured assets in the community, and the work that you all do over there is just incredible, but you can't do it without partners, as we all say, collaboration is key.

And uh today we're actually here to recognize uh 2026 National Crime Victims Rights Week in Houston, and we've got together 18 different partners that that work together with crime stoppers to help these families of victims of crime, and so you want to call them all up.

Let's uh as I read, I guess you guys can gather because there's a whole audience full.

So today we recognize today 2026 National Crime Victims' Rights Week in Houston, whereas National Crime Victims' Rights Week is observed each year as a time when communities come across the nation from across the nation honor the strength, courage, and resilience of victims and survivors of crime, and recommit to supporting their rights, healing, and access to justice.

And whereas crime affects individuals, families, and neighborhoods in profound and lasting ways, and ensuring that victims are treated with dignity, fairness, and respect is essential to building a just and cat compassionate society.

And whereas victim service providers, advocates, law enforcement professionals, and community organizations work tirelessly to offer safety, resources, and hope to those impacted by crime.

And whereas the theme for National Crime Victims' Rights Week, listen, act, advocate, call on communities to expand access to services, strengthen partnerships, and ensure that every victim is seen, heard, and supported.

And whereas the City of Houston reaffirms its commitment to provide crime supporting crime, preventing crime, supporting victims, and building a safer, more resilient community for all who call Houston home, and proudly recognizes local partners that make this work possible.

Those include AVDA, aid to victims of domestic abuse, the Children's Assessment Center, Crime Stoppers of Houston, DEA, Demand Disruption, Elijah Rising, Harris County District Attorney's Office, Victim Services Division, Harris County Domestic Violence Coordinating Council, Harris County Precinct 5 Constable's Office, Harris County Sheriff's Office, Victim Services Division, Harris County Sheriff's Office, Homicide Division, Houston Police Department, Crime Services Unit, Houston Police Department, Homicide Division, NTZ, No Trafficking Zone, Parents of Murdered Children, Houston Chapter, Montrose Center, Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Victim Services Division, and Texas Crime Victims United.

And whereas, in recognition of this importance, observance, the City of Houston encourages all residents to join in honoring victims and survivors of crime to recognize this the dedicated professionals and volunteers who serve them.

Thank you, Councilmember Carter and Andy, thanks for joining us.

Thank you to all of our stakeholders.

This is a true picture of collaboration.

Starts uh with prevention, services, and then accountability.

As chairman of criminal justice for 30 years, I've worked with each of these groups.

Volunteers, trying to make Houston and our region a safer place.

And without them, HPD could not be nearly as effective, not only HPD, but the sheriffs, the constables, and for our whole region.

So thank you for bringing this recognition forward.

I would urge everyone to keep on, continuing your service.

Uh and therefore I, John Whitmar, Mayor of the City of Houston, hereby recognize April 19th through April 25th, 2026 as a National Crime Victims Rights Week.

Thank you.

No, I've always had a saying that crime victims are the only unwilling participants in the criminal justice system.

Everyone else chose their role.

Law enforcement, prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, and of course those who commit the crimes against our citizens.

And it's the least we can do, and particularly in government, is to look out for victims' rights, their due process, and their well-being.

And that's why when you look back here at all these different groups and organizations that we partner with the city, every city council member needs to get to know them.

I encourage council members to attend the events, and I know some of you have, I'm not going to call names or things like that.

I encourage you to attend what we do at Crime Stoppers, whether it's the National Day of Remembrance, whether it's the holiday memorial tree ceremony, whether it's our monthly meetings of parents of murdered children and surviving family members of homicide.

All these organizations play a significant role in helping victims rebuild their lives, making sure that their rights, their due process are looked at.

They are the forgotten elements of the criminal justice system.

Nobody who was a victim asked to be part of it.

So in the City of Houston, it's amazing the amount of organizations that we have for homicide survivors, domestic violence, human trafficking, sexual assault, child abuse, assaults, you name it, there's an organization here for you.

And all of us are proud to be part of this today.

Thank you for once again sponsoring this, Councilmember Carter, Mayor John Whitmire, who for years in the Senate has led so many different changes to enhance victims' rights in public safety.

And for that, we applaud you as well.

Thank you.

Councilmember Carter, we were gonna go.

Councilmember Carter, before the photo, we have some council members in the queue.

Councilmember Cayman.

Thank you.

Uh Councilmember Carter, thank you for bringing this forward, Andy, for your words, and you're absolutely right in terms of getting to know all these amazing organizations, uh, our partners at AVDA, um, Hawk, our local law enforcement partners.

The list goes on, and Councilmember Carter, I wanted to acknowledge you.

You and I have been uh side by side standing in the space around domestic violence advocacy.

And uh for that I also want to recognize you for your work in that space, uh, because all of our partners are standing on the front lines, and it will take all of us to address and stem the tide.

Thank you.

Councilmember Flickinger.

And I just wanted to say thank you to you and everybody else here for always focusing on the victims of crime.

I really appreciate what you do.

Councilmember Ramirez.

Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember Carter, for bringing this forward.

Mayor, thank you for recognizing uh this week, Andy and Cram Crime Stoppers and all representatives who are here.

Thanks for everything that you all do, you know, to raise awareness, to advocate, to support and and to bring light to these issues and always being there for for crime victims.

And uh thank you.

I'm gonna briefly just say last night I had the honor and privilege of meeting with Ashanti Allen's family.

That's the young lady who was murdered, eight months pregnant.

What an incredible family.

And I think it's important that the city of Houston also recognize and honor families like that as well.

Okay, yeah.

The chair recognizes Councilmember Ramirez for a proclamation celebrating National Arab American Heritage Month Pro Tim and thank you, Mayor.

It's my privilege at this time to bring forth a proclamation to honor and recognize National Arab Heritage Month here in Houston and across the country.

This is in bring them up.

Absolutely.

We have with us a number of uh leaders in the Arab American community, mayor business leaders, doctors, engineers, um, media professionals, and and so many others, and we do this in recognition of the great contributions they have made to Houston.

Uh Mayor, for over a century, Arab Americans have made valuable contributions in virtually every aspect of our society and culture.

Since migrating to America, men and women of Arab descent have shared their rich culture and traditions with neighbors and friends while also serving as exemplary citizens and public servants.

They exemplify wonderful family values, a strong work ethic, dedication to education and diversity and faith in creed.

It's important to realize, Mayor, we need to continue to advocate for the prevention of civil rights abuses, harmful stereotyping and bullying, and join all Americans in the desire for a peaceful and diverse society where every individual is treated equally and feel safe.

And um we all know what a wonderful melting pot Houston is, and uh our Arab American community plays a great role in contributing to that.

And thank you.

What a great opportunity to show what makes Houston such a great city, a great international city.

You know, we wrapped up fleet week this week.

We emphasize to the Marines and the sailors get out in our community, go to the international district, crisscross this great city, and see the mixture of cultures and people, and that's what we're celebrating today.

Thank you.

We would not, as I mentioned, be the great city.

We would not have the strong medical center that we have.

I know who the doctors and professors are at our schools and academic facilities.

So thank you.

So thank you, Councilman Romeras.

I know we all share your sentiments.

Therefore, our John Whitmark, Mayor of the City of Houston, hereby proclaim April 2026, National Arab American Heritage Month in the city of Houston.

Thank you.

And uh we, as you have mentioned, contribute to all aspects of life in this city, and we have more to offer.

We want to contribute more.

We're very proud to make this city our city and our children's and our grandchildren's city, and we look forward to working with you and with the city council in making this the great city that it is, and more.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor, very much.

Thank you, my friend Julian, and thank you all, City Council.

Uh, the Arab community here.

It's been here over 100 years.

Some of you are perhaps know that, some of you all do not know that.

Fred, I'm sorry I missed your uh thing, but so uh I would like to all of your city council to get involved, especially this month here, the heritage month for the Arab community to come and take the offer them, visit our sitta and see our activities there, what we do, and you will be our guest.

I promise you just make a phone call to the Arabic community center and come in, the mayor being there, Julian being there, many of you are being there.

So I like to invite each and every one of you to come in and meet and see our community.

So please uh thank you all very much, and I ask each and everyone, please reach to us.

And if we reach to you, please answer us back.

Because we are BART, we are part of this successful beautiful city.

If I am happy, it's because of this city.

And I want to be back this city as well.

But I want you also to come and know our community.

God bless you all, and thank you all very much.

Councilmember Ramirez, we do have some council members in the queue.

Councilmember Thomas.

Thank you, Councilmember Ramirez and Mayor for presenting the proclamation to celebrate, celebrate Arab Heritage Month.

Uh, the Arab Cultural Center is in District F on the West Side, the best side of Houston.

And I say that because of the cultural diversity and the richness, um, your community gives Houston its flair.

Uh, during Hurricane Barrell, we work with many of the mosques on the west side to make sure that resources were shared, and so they were able to partner with us and volunteer.

Um, and we were able to serve so many Houstonians because of the leadership and the trust that they have in your community.

So, I want to thank you for that.

Um, also, and I just want to highlight one of my high school classmates, Mo Amor, the first Arab American to have a Netflix special um that was filmed in our beloved city, highlighting your heritage, your culture, um, which I think opened up uh the world to how diverse the city of Houston is.

So, Councilmember Ramirez, this is such an important uh proclamation, and thank you for amplifying the voices.

And and I want to join you in inviting my colleagues to the west side.

So let's make that happen.

Um, and if you have not been uh to the center, it is high energy.

There's always something happening there.

You can bring your family, your friends.

It is it is a sight to see.

So thank you for who you are and for what you do.

Councilmember Pollard.

Thank you, Vice Mayor Pro Tim, and Mayor, uh, Councilmember Ramirez for bringing us forward.

The council member from District F said that the ACC was in her district.

Uh, we're gonna have to look at the lines.

I think it may be, I think it may be in J City.

So we don't we're gonna we're gonna look at the we're gonna look at the lines on that.

But no, I want to thank you all for your leadership, your continued efforts in the city of Houston.

I've been to the the center many times for many programs.

We're actually working currently on bringing some after school programming uh to the center as well, and so continue to keep our office uh in touch with everything that you're doing.

We'll continue to be collaborative and supportive, and I want to thank everyone uh for being in attendance today.

God bless you all.

Thank you, man.

Council I get everyone's attention.

Councilman Carter for the invocation.

Will you pray with me?

Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you today.

Thanking you for man our many blessings, our gratefulness for the fleet week and the success in bringing all of our military to Houston, and the generosity and spirit of Houstonians was present every day.

Pledge allegiance to the flag.

All in favor say yes.

Those opposed to name motion passes.

Second made and second.

All in favor say yes, those opposed nay.

Motion passes.

Thank you, Mayor.

I move to suspend the rules to add Jacob Jack Jacobed Henley to the top of the three minute non-agenda.

Second.

Motion made and second.

All in favor say yes.

Those opposed nay.

Motion passes.

Councilman Alcorn.

Top of three.

I move to suspend the rules to move Jose Soto to follow Robin Minor on the three-minute agenda list.

Motion made and second.

All in favor say yes, those opposed nay.

Motion passes.

Councilman Castillo.

Thank you.

I move to suspend the rules to add Jason Evans to the bottom of the two-minute agenda list.

Second.

Councilmember Davis.

Thank you.

I move to suspend the rule to move tomorrow bill to the three minute agenda list under George Gibson.

Second.

Motion is made and second.

All in favor say yes.

Those post name motion passes.

Anyone else?

Members, yes, we have a very long list of the first time.

Speakers today.

I'll get right back to you.

Thank you, Mayor.

I'm so sorry.

Um I moved to suspend the rules to add Bishop James Dixon to the list.

Uh the top well behind, I think tomorrow bail, the three minutes uh agenda.

And then I would like to move Rashim Mohammed uh to the top of the three-minute non-agenda.

Second.

Motion made and second.

All in favor say yes, those opposed name motion passed.

Councilman Salinas.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, since we just received a copy of the proposed ordinance that you would like us to vote on tomorrow, and many of these folks are here today to speak on that very item.

Can you please explain to the public and print out copies of the ordinance so the public can have them so they can guide their comment?

We'll share that copy with anyone.

Thank you.

Members, we have a very long list of speakers signed up today because we have more than 150 minutes worth of speakers.

The rules require us to give only one minute to each of our speakers, even if you signed up for more.

Thank you.

Mr.

Secretary, you want to call our first speaker.

Danny Danny Hernandez.

Kevin Joaquin.

To be followed by Randall Callanan.

Um I just have a quick question before I begin.

Um we registered someone to speak yesterday before three.

Uh her name is Yareli Gomez.

I don't know.

She I think she was taking off of the the list.

I don't know if uh there's anything anyone can do.

She's in the audience uh with us right now, but we we called.

Would that be okay?

We'll make certain we'll make certain that we hear from her.

Okay, great.

Thank you.

Um my name is Kevin Huachin.

I am part of workers' defense action fund.

I live in District J.

Um.

And I would like to have this in Spanish for a community uh with us.

Um it's okay if it's not translated.

Uh in otra occasion, me gustaría ver tomado más tiempo para hablar sobre el trabajo que I hecho defensa laboral action fundes de puertas for algunos de ustedes y que podemos ponerlos y sacarlos.

But quizás no hay otra oportunidad para convencerlos.

Okay.

Seguro.

Okay.

I think it's okay.

Ojalá lo sientan ustedes así también.

La Comunidad Latina migrante ha infrato muchos attacques este año.

Y este es un momento tan importante para nosotros.

Thank you.

Nick.

Mayor, I I just had a procedural question because we're having great translation here.

Um, and I don't know if everybody in the audience can hear what's being said as well.

Do we have something to address that specifically?

Okay.

Okay, for those in the audience that for translation purposes, you can use the QR code that's on the screen to pull up translation services.

Thank you, Nick.

One second.

Randall Callanan.

To be followed by Cheryl Abrams.

Good afternoon.

Randall Callanan with the Greater Houston Coalition for Justice and a uh civil rights lawyer.

My client's loved one, Victor Diaz, died in ICE custody in El Paso after being picked up on an immigration warrant.

He had not committed any crime, but it was just trying to feed his family.

That's what these immigration warrants do.

They just don't have a live you don't, you just don't get a little bit of time without having your freedom.

You can die.

These detention centers are horrible.

The ones in El Paso, they don't have medical care.

The people are dying of excessive force there.

So this is an extremely serious matter.

The Supreme Court in Rodriguez versus the United States has already decided this is unconstitutional.

No ordinance, no policy, no law can make it constitutional because the Supreme Court of the United States is the supreme law of the land.

Commit less crimes than other people.

Thank you.

Councillor Swingish.

Yes.

So one of the revisions we just received to the language removes the limiter of only on how long a stop can occur.

Without the word only, do you believe the ordinance would still be in compliance with the Constitution?

Well, the uh the Constitution, the United States Supreme Court has decided you cannot keep anybody for any length of time.

There is no reasonable length of time after after the reason for the stop is extinguished.

And also if it's unconstitutionally vague and lets the police arrest people if they think they can uh hold people, uh well, then it could be unconstitutional if it confuses the police.

Thank you.

Thank you, Nick.

Cheryl Abrams, to be followed by Matthew Matthew Banzer.

Good afternoon.

We may not think that Houston can afford to lose 110 million dollars in state funds, but the truth is that we can much less afford the economic consequences of draconian immigration policies.

Immigrants are the backbone of Houston's economy.

They make up one-third of our workforce, contribute over 20 billion dollars in taxes annually, and staff essential fields like construction and manufacturing.

Oh, sorry, was that from before?

Yeah.

Next Matthew Banzer.

To be followed by Jason Carpenter, uh thank you, Matthew Banzer District C.

I would like to start off by pointing out it is very ironic that Greg Abbott is one of the only governors in this uh country that is focusing on defunding the police.

I'm one of the many people speaking on behalf of this ordinance.

The ordinance does not violate SB4, and it does nothing to prevent or limit police for holding anyone that is suspected of a crime.

Immigration is civil.

And what's frustrating is before Greg's Abbott's defunding threats, most of y'all agreed with that.

There's plenty of arguments for the ordinance that I can make, but to be honest, there's going to be a lot of people that are much more qualified making that argument for me later.

Jason Carpenter.

Walter Mallet.

To be followed by Nora Dayton.

And the policies that are in place.

So when Houston decides how much it will cooperate with ICE, that decision reaches far beyond the immigrant community.

It affects whether people like me feel safe moving through my city, speaking up and participating in public life.

It's okay.

It's okay.

Is this your first time?

You are in the community every single day, um, advocating for others, and I just wanted to recognize that because I know it's your first time here, but you have used your voice over and over and over again.

So thank you for being here.

Thank you.

Right now, the police will pull you over for any small violation.

You don't even have to be violating the law.

Depending on which police uh stop you, some are aggressive and racist.

Just because they see you as a Latino person, they know right now, and that they will take you right now, and they know how difficult it is for immigrants to register their vehicles.

I know of uh I have a friend who was taken out of his apartment by the police and he was beaten, um and he has since been deported.

We don't want any violence in our city, but what kind of example is law enforcement providing us.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Darlene DeLion to be followed by Mark Dow.

My name is Darlin.

I am a member of worker defense, and I live in District J.

Public safety depends on clear roles, accountable enforcement.

The Prop A ordinance is not about preventing police from doing their job.

No one is asking law enforcement to step back from protecting the city or responding to crime.

What this is about is clarity, making sure local police are focused on public safety, while federal agencies handle immigration enforcement as intended under law.

When those roles are blurred, it leads to confusion and efficiency and diverts intention and resources away from serious crimes that impact our communities every day.

As Houston prepares for major international events like the World Cup, we cannot afford gaps in clarity or enforcement priorities.

We need systems that are prepared, structured, and focused on real threats.

Your time has expired.

Held to it.

Thank you for your time.

Mark Mark Dow to be followed by Aaron Ericsson.

My name is Mark Dow.

I was born in Houston 20 years ago.

HPD ICE collaboration has to be seen within the larger picture.

A year ago I witnessed the abduction of two of our neighbors from the South Gestner Immigration Court.

The Cuban and Venezuelan man were here legally.

They were here legally.

Like over 70% of immigration detainees, they had no criminal record, but like thousands and thousands of others, they were separated from families, loved ones, jobs, and their possessions.

Public safety is threatened when law enforcement refuses to release detainees who have been ordered released by federal judges when they illegally break into homes, and yes, when they shoot and kill US citizens who feel that there is a problem with all of this.

Can you say again what you saw personally given your expertise in this field?

Well, yeah, I wrote a book 20 years ago about the immigration detention system, and what I know from extensive interviews recently is that the scale of what's happening, even long time advocates uh sometimes can't grasp it.

So it's it's understandable if you cannot.

What I saw was down on South Gessner, I saw plain clothes agents who I assume were ICE agents, but I'm not sure if they were ICE agents, they were violating the law because they failed to identify themselves, and they took away a Cuban man and a Venezuelan man uh who were both here legally reporting for their uh court proceedings.

Uh both of those men have since been deported.

Uh I believe the Cuban man was sent to a country uh that he was not from, which is also quite common now.

And I know you've spent a lot of time at the courts.

Uh thank you for the work that you do.

Thank you.

Aaron Erickson.

To be followed by Maximo Cortez.

Good afternoon, Mayor and Council members.

Thank you so much for your time today.

My name is Aaron Erickson, and I live in District C.

I'm here today urging that you protect Houstonians and fight against the state, trying to bully us into repealing the immigration ordinance.

Let's be clear about who is making this a problem.

It is our governor, not the ordinance, and not this body who overwhelmingly voted for this ordinance only two weeks ago.

The governor.

And as it has been relayed to us, these are his discretionary monies.

But if critical infrastructure is lying is relying on sitting up and flying right according to the governor, that is a huge problem.

This is a coercive move by the governor to win a point for his culture war, or because this is an election year, or to appease Trump.

Whatever the motive is, this is not good leadership and it is an abuse of power.

Will we live under the threat of being defunded of needed services every time this body makes a decision he doesn't like?

Please be the leaders we need in this moment and to fight to protect Houstonians.

Challenge the governor's letter in the lawsuit, take this to court.

And I want to ask has the city council been given an itemized list to exactly which funds will be frozen or revoked, and how will that impact city services?

Not a vague notion of what will be impacted, but actual line items and how it impacts city workers and Houstonians.

Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you.

Councilman Sleeners.

Thank you for that question.

Um I've been posing it myself to the administration for well over a week.

Mayor, do you have an update on when we're gonna get an itemized list of the grants and the certifications?

So do you plan to give us that list before tomorrow's vote?

Before tomorrow's vote?

I'll furnish you one.

So we will have a list of all the grants.

I will furnish you one as soon as I have the access.

But right now the administration does not have a full.

No, Mayor, respectfully, the list you circulated.

No, Mayor, my my request to your administration was copies of all the grants that you contend are at issue.

Copies of all excuse me, may I finish the out in the package that we sent.

Mayor, I let you finish.

May I finish my question?

Sure.

Okay.

We have asked for copies of all the grant applications, copies of all the certifications, list of all the funds that have already been paid out, funds that remain to be paid out, and they whether there whether the administration has looked into the question of whether the state can pull back federal dollars that are just passed through.

We have asked for this information for well over a week.

Will you commit to providing that information in advance?

Do you know the answer to those questions right now?

We're gonna get that is a long drawn out document, and I will get access to it for you.

Do you have that information yet, sir?

You're working on it.

Okay, so we still don't have that information, but we're gonna vote on this.

We are working on it.

It's in the legal department, and I'll do my very best to get it for you.

I look forward to seeing it in advance of tomorrow's vote.

Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you.

Maximo Cortez.

To be followed by Jacqueline Luci Smith.

Uh good afternoon, y'all.

Um please protect immigrants by upholding Prop A.

If Prop A is not upheld, it will bring it into the land of unintended consequences.

Uh 20 years in the future, uh, 20 years in the future.

Will you be saying I was just doing my job?

I was just following orders.

They will ask, why didn't you do anything to stop them?

Houston is a global city.

We need to act like one and be accepting.

We are all we have when the hurricanes hit.

We are all we have when electricity goes out, invest our collective futures.

And then finally, a question do any HPD officers or the department get money for handing over immigrants to ICE?

Uh please, please uh upheld uh prop A, please.

Next Jacqueline Luci Smith.

To be followed by Gloria Rubin.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Council members.

My name's Jacqueline Luci Smith.

I'm a 30-plus year attorney.

I'm a 30-plus year attorney here in Harris County.

I have been practicing law as an assistant county attorney as a civil court judge and as legal counsel to Paul Betoncourt, both in the Senate and the Harris County Tax Office.

As an elected official, former elected official, I understand that our oaths and our obligation are to the community and the continued safety of our community.

The first thing I'd like to address with Prop A is the reliance on Rodriguez that was discussed by our first speaker was absolutely misplaced.

Rodriguez is not a case that says that anybody stopped cannot be held longer than the traffic stop.

That is categorically false.

And anyone who has read that case knows that that case was very specific because the officer identified that he had no reasonable suspicion.

And that is the standard that is used for a traffic stop, according to the United States Supreme Court reasonable suspicion.

By taking away an officer's actual discretion to determine whether or not an individual needs to be held for ICE to come pick them up when there is an actual warrant, that's a problem.

Your time has expired.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Ma'am.

Councilmember Davis.

Yes.

Did uh did you finish?

You can use my time to finish.

So the reason I bring that up is because we are concentrating on the wrong issue.

Where it basically Prop A starts a new catch and release program, which is how we got in this mess in the first place with tens of millions of illegal immigrants crossing the border unfetted.

Yes, I'm in the lion's den, but there is no doubt that we have had an immigration crisis in this country that we are now having to deal with.

Point of point of order.

Point of order.

I have said this before.

You can disagree with what somebody is saying, but if we could please respect their right to speak, I would very much appreciate that in the chambers.

The immigration crisis is not going to be solved overnight, but we do have to work together to do it as a community for our community's safety.

And that's what I would like to stress with Prop A that giving those police officers the discretion to contact ICE and remove the truly difficult criminals that do need to be removed is important.

Thank you.

Yes.

Thank you, ma'am.

We've had a number of people give us their opinions on violations of Fourth Amendment rights.

Obviously, you just talked about it a little bit.

Can you give us elaborate on that?

So actually, um the legal counsel for the Department of Homeland Security and the DOJ has actually stated that the 700,000 warrants that flooded the system are all based on people that have been in front of an immigration judge, have had their due process rights, and have a deportation order.

So if there is a warrant in the system, that itself is reasonable suspicion that they are here after they have been deported, which is a different level crime than just crossing the board illegally.

It puts them in a different class because they have now violated a court order of deportation.

That being said, the Fourth Amendment is protected because they've had their due process and they are operating and it'll be present illegally after a deportation order.

That's why Wren itself.

Please, please, so in 1960, the use of administrative warrants was upheld by the United States Supreme Court, and again, they recognize that if there is that order, probable cause, reasonable suspicion, Fourth Amendment rights are protected for those immigrants.

Councilor Pollard, thank you, Mayor.

Pollard.

Thank you, Mayor.

Sorry.

Um, your comments earlier were speaking towards discretion.

Umficers should have discretion when deciding on which individuals they believe should be detained further or show no harm or criminal threat.

I think they have to do that with every traffic stop they make.

They have to evaluate the situation based on the facts and circumstances at the time.

If we put illegal immigrants in a separate category, we are now putting police officers in a very untenable position.

Every time I'm stopped, every single time I'm stopped.

Okay.

And that's the same with illegal immigrants.

That's the same with anybody stopped.

Yeah, uh, we agree with you.

In our original proposal, we wanted to give HPD the discretion to be able to use their professional judgment in order to do so, but that was struck down as unlawful.

I would like to point out too that it's my understanding that Bray Hunt testified that there were 75 of these cases where ICE was called because of those administrative warrants.

Only on in 38 of those, I said we're okay, let them go.

There was only 33 of those that were actually resulted in further detention because those were people that ICE had flagged as dangerous.

So by not allowing ICE the time to come pick those up, we are now releasing them back into society into our communities in our neighborhoods, and then we're forcing ICE to go into those neighborhoods to pick them up.

I think overall we're agreeing that we believe that ICE, our HPD officers should have discretion as we originally proposed.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Councillor Cayman.

Councilman Selena.

Anyone else?

Thank you all very much.

So one, um my office is distributing copies of the new proposed ordinance so the folks in the audience can read it.

Um my question to you is do you believe that it is constitutionally permissible to hold someone as long as it takes for ICE to arrive?

It takes them an hour.

Is that constitutionally permissible?

It is not the amount of time in the Supreme Court has actually said it's not the amount of time, it's whether or not there's a reasonable suspicion.

So the time is not the issue.

But I'm asking I'm asking my question.

Yes, you and absolutely the Supreme Court told me that that it's not time is not the issue.

And what Supreme Court case said that an immigration administrative warrant was sufficient caused for a local law enforcement individual to hold someone for a longer time.

Can you give me the precise case name?

So it's all based on the prodigy from um ABL versus the United States.

And in that case, a um FBI and ICE were working together.

FBI flagged somebody as they thought was illegal and had used a birth certificate to fake an identity as a United States citizen.

In fact, what happened was ICE found out about that illegal um birthright citizenship, and they arrested him and detained him to deport him when ICE went in when the FBI went in later after he was checked out of his hotel room after being detained, they found out that he was fine.

He had he was actually um charged and convicted of criminal espionage, all based on the information that they seized after they arrested him for deportation.

He was then prosecuted.

And the rule that came out of that was absolutely that's a good administrative warrant.

It was a civil warrant for deportation.

He was then detained, and any evidence gathered was usable in that court to for his criminal prosecution.

That that doesn't answer my question, but the case that is the entire that is the case.

It says administrative warrants are absolutely legal.

They are Fourth Amendment protections, they are civil warrants, and they can lead to criminal prosecution as long as they're not abused in a way that they are used specifically to get criminal indictments.

And this is not that case with a traffic stop.

That is the case.

Thank you, ma'am.

Gloria Gloria Ruback.

To be followed by Nicholas Juan.

Good afternoon.

We live in a great city, right?

And one of the things that makes it great is the immigrant community.

They contribute to education, to health care, to food, to music.

And where would the Astros be without Jose Altuve or Don?

Or Don Alvarez or Isaac Paredes.

What if we couldn't grab a papusa or a ban me or a falafel sandwich?

But seriously.

The ordinance that was passed can prevent violence against families.

It can prevent kids being separated from their parents.

Mayor, I uh I remember your attitude when you were head of the Texas Senate criminal justice committee.

I hope the disdain that you had for prisoners does not extend to immigrants.

Your time has expired.

Thank you.

Abolish ICE, ICE out of Houston, they're terrorists.

Mayor Nicholas Juan.

To be followed by Jasmine Katamog Barry.

Good morning, Mayor Whitmeyer and members of council.

My name is Nicholas Juan.

I'm a candidate for Justice of the Peace in Harris County Precinct 8, place two.

We're being told by this administration that we have no choice but to surrender our local policy to avoid losing 110 million in state funding.

We have absolutely a choice.

We fight in court.

Instead of repealing our ordinance under threat, why is the city not seeking a temporary restraining order to halt the state's retaliation while the legality of this ordinance is litigated in court?

A TRR would allow us to protect the uh our safety budget immediately, and while providing the judiciary necessary time to weigh the merits of the case without the pressure of a deadline.

Using the legal system to defend our city is the way we stand up to this attack on our public safety.

Beyond the procedural remedy, we must address constitutional reality.

Under Rodriguez versus United States, the traffic stop concludes the moment its original purpose is resolved.

Ordering a treaty to prolong stops to wait for ice is an invitation for civil rights lawsuits that will cost our taxpayers far more than the funding we are risking today.

I'm deeply concerned that trading our legal integrity for a state check, and we will pay for that trade with legal rights with the civil rights and trust of our residents.

To be followed by Marissa Bosley.

The nation is watching us.

Texas has long been a training ground for Donald Trump's fascist agenda.

And Austin and Dallas are watching to see not just what we do, but what we are willing to accept.

If you repeal this ordinance tomorrow, you will signal to the state and federal fascists that your city, your jobs as legislators, and Houston sovereignty can be bought.

Repealing this ordinance will have a price.

The cost won't be 114 million dollars or the cost of legal fees.

The real cost, the cost that truly matters is us, is people.

The cost is the man who was detained for over an hour in the back of a patrol car and eventually deported.

He told me now my 10-year-old citizen son will have to grow up without me.

I wasn't a criminal.

And I like how Councilmember Evan Shabbaz put it, so I'll repeat it here.

They gave you a different mandate.

Do not vote to repeal, do not vote to amend, vote to protect the ordinance and the people of Houston.

Thank you.

Marissa Bosley.

Stephen Aviles.

To be followed by Jeff Reese.

Good afternoon.

My name is Steven, and I'm here to ask you to put a Houston safety and community ahead of political pressure from Greg Gabbott and Ken Paxton.

We've heard their warnings.

Back in October, Governor Abbott ordered the removal of a pride crosswalk.

Citing cities failing to comply face losing transportation funding.

Sounds familiar.

A tree can fall on a person, and Abbott will claim that it's illegal.

It's all political pressure dressed up as public safety.

Repeated threats of punishment, lawsuits, defunding law enforcement are meant to force compliance.

And they should not dictate how city the city protects its residents.

The cities who follow that pressure often end up worse at policing.

Leadership means making decisions based on what actually works, not reacting to pressure.

I'm asking you to stand firm urgently.

Thank you.

Jeff Reese.

Adriana Telez.

To be followed by John Cotter.

Good evening.

My name is Adriana, and I am here in support of the of the ordinance.

And I urge you not to repeal or amend it.

Okay.

Okay.

Good evening.

My name is Adriana, and I'm here in support of this ordinance, and I urge you to not repeal or amend it because this right here is a joke.

Let's talk about what's actually happening here.

The state is threatening the city over a hundred million.

Apparently, there's not even a list of what exactly is being um uh cut.

And uh calling this ordinance a violation of that agreement, but that is not what this ordinance does, and it does not stop corroboration with federal agencies.

It's uh the real question here is Houston is being asked to give up cons constitutional protections to keep funding because that's what it seems like to me.

We have seen this before in the 1930s.

The same communities were blamed for an economic disaster they did not create, and it didn't work then, and it will not work now.

This will destabilize our communities and make the city.

Your time has expired.

Thank you, ma'am.

Are you willing, Mayor, to let outside pressure dictate how this city governs itself?

Thank you.

Nick John Cotter, Kelly Sadler.

To be followed by Frank Jekowski.

Hi, good afternoon, Council.

Thank you for uh having us.

Um I teach government at Sanno College, which is just outside the city on the east side.

Uh, three of my students are in ICE custody.

They have no criminal record.

Three college students stuck in a cage.

Today I want to talk about who profits from that.

Core Civic and Geo Group hold ice contracts worth hundreds of millions of dollars.

The private prison industry is profiting from locking up our neighbors, our friends, including our students.

This isn't public safety, it's human trafficking.

Core Civic, who operates three facilities right here in the greater Houston area.

Uh, they make 160 dollars a day per detainee per bed, 160 dollars per person.

That means core civic is making about 500 off of my three students who have no criminal record.

Core Civic and Geo Group are allowed to operate freely with impunity, thanks to general support from Mayor Whitmeyer, who has relationships with them going back to the time when he was in the State House.

No one should profit from putting your time as well.

No one should profit from putting people in cages.

Thank you, ma'am.

Ma'am.

Okay, we've got a point of Mayor.

I'm getting a few messages from different folks that the live feed to the public isn't working.

It's saying that there's no meeting in session.

Is there a way to get an update from IT as to what is happening with that?

I don't want to stop proceedings in any way, but if they can check on it.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next Frank Jakowski to be followed by Juan Rubio.

Thank you for having me this afternoon.

The mic right there on your left.

The other direction.

There you go.

Did you see the SKI?

Um, I'm here this afternoon for the first time addressing the council and you, Mr.

Mayor.

I normally do not come out.

I'm behind the scenes most of the time, helping the political parties.

I am a precinct chair.

I am in Council C area.

This is hard because I come from a family of immigrants.

Over a hundred years ago, my family came here to the first ward.

Where would we be now if this policy was in place then?

How many of you would be here?

I hope you consider that what you're doing tomorrow.

Thank you.

Next councilman King.

No.

Next, Juan Rubio.

To be followed by Thomas Sutherland.

Good afternoon, Council Members.

My name is Juan Rubio.

I'm the policy coordinator at Workers' Defense Action Fund.

Right here.

Okay.

We should be clear about what this policy does.

It makes clear that our police should not prolong stops or detain people based solely on civil immigration warrants.

Documents that do not meet the standard of criminal law.

In his 1963 letter from Birmingham Jail, Dr.

Martin Luther King argues that the greatest tragedy is not the actions of the unjust, but the silence and retreat of those who know better.

He warned us about the tendency to retreat from justice when it creates tension with those in power.

Council members, the state is attempting to coerce you into a retreat from justice.

A retreat from a policy that draws a simple lawful boundary that protects immigrant Houstonians and a retreat from the idea that public safety depends on trust.

When local police are expected to hold people longer or act on civil immigration warrants, every interaction can escalate.

People hesitate.

They think twice before calling 911.

Workers weigh the risk before reporting the abuse they suffer at the hands of their employers.

Please stand firm.

Please stand with the city that I've grown up admiring.

Please stand with immigrant Euston.

Thank you.

Councilmember Slavis.

Uh Mayor, in line with that comment, and we've distributed copies of the proposed ordinance.

Can you tell us whether you intend for the 30-minute rule you had in place before the ordinance passed to go back into effect following the passage of this ordinance?

Under consideration.

Well, no, Mayor, I'm I'm asking, you're asking us to vote.

Do you intend for the 30-minute policy to go back into effect following the passage of this ordinance?

I'll take it under consideration.

Mayor, I don't understand how what did you intend with your ordinance?

Thomas Sutherland.

Thomas Sutherland to be followed by Jason Evans.

Good afternoon, Council.

This fascist anti-democratic state government that we live under has issued a challenge to this city.

Abbott and Paxton issued this challenge because they are scared.

They are afraid of the growing power and organization of our working class and immigrant communities.

They are scared of a city government that listens to and responds to the needs of those communities.

You have two options before you.

Thank you.

For those reasons, ask me local 123 Hope respectfully calls for the appeal of this current ordinance.

We believe that there's a path forward for both to be addressed for the community and their concerns to protect our workforce that keeps our city running.

We stand ready to work with a collaborative with the city leaders, committee, community, stakeholders, and policymakers to develop a balanced solution that upholds our shared values without risk of the lives of the Houston public servants.

Councilman Km.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, I I really want to recognize you know Hope's voice.

Uh, but you you mentioned the risk to city employees.

Yes, ma'am.

What is you understand it is that risk to city employees?

For myself, we understand that there's going to be budget cuts.

And when I say budget cuts, I mean from the standpoint that the state is going to withdraw the 10, 114 million.

That money has to come from somewhere.

If the state does not provide that funding, it has to come from somewhere.

That means it's probably going potential layoffs.

Okay, so sorry, because when we talk about the types of grants, a hundred of the hundred and fourteen are federal grants.

Of that 100, there's about 65 million for FIFA.

There's grants for very critical body armor, vehicles.

So what communication did you receive or what message did you receive that indicated that there would be personnel cuts?

Based on based on history, that in the city, something like this that we're already strapped for funding.

Yes.

So therefore, if we're getting funding from the state, that money has to come from somewhere to make sure that we keep things afloat.

Understood.

I think when we get into the budget, one of my questions though, we are already over 50 million above in overtime, then what was budgeted for, and we haven't seen personnel cuts.

So I again I hear I want to make sure that Hope knows we're we're listening and I'm listening with open ears right now, but I want to make sure that there hasn't been a communication that y'all are going to uh there's going to be personnel and staffing cuts as a result of this because we have so many additional budgetary issues going on issues and there hasn't been that risk.

Well, I just know that we still continue to compound not having appropriate funding.

Where is it going to come from?

And the reason why I say it is a concern of mine for our municipal workers, because again, history has shown here it is, they're not going to lay off.

We're not going to do anything with police, we're not going to do anything with fire.

Typically, as always the municipal workers that get the short end of the stick.

And I just want to make sure that our voices heard to make sure that the municipal workers aren't the scapegoats of this situation due to a political ploy.

And and understood, and I don't think employees should ever one.

I don't think this is about politics, and I hate that that word has been thrown around so much.

I think this is about the rule of law.

And I think this is about the city's authority and autonomy and respect for the law.

At the same time, uh it's important that we are listening to city employees as the backbone of our city.

Yes, ma'am.

So I appreciate your time.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next up.

To be followed by Sylvia Oliva.

Good afternoon, Mayor, City Council members.

My name is Seneca McQueen, and I'm a long-term member of Texas Organizing Project.

We've been organizing with families across Houston who are directly impacted by policing, probation, and immigration enforcement.

We all want the same thing.

Safe communities where families can live, work, and move without fear.

But right now, what we're seeing is not safety.

It's a system where routine traffic stops are turning into life-altering consequences.

Data shows HVD contacts with ICE have increased by 1,000 percent in just one year, often during traffic stops.

That means something as simple as a broken taillight can lead to detention, deportation, and families being torn apart.

Now the state is threatening funding, and the attorney general is suing Houston.

But let's be clear, this is not about safety, this is about control.

Proposition A is a step toward restoring trust.

It ensures the Houston police focus on public safety, not federal immigration enforcement.

Houston should not go backwards.

I'm asking you today.

Do not repeal Proposition A.

Stand firm, defend this audience in court, protect the Houston families, not political pressure.

The time has it people and represent the people.

Thank you for your time.

Sylvia Oliva.

To be followed by Robin Miner.

Hello, Alcalde Winmeyer and members del Consejo Municipal.

My name is Sylvia Oliva, soy immigrante, madre de those hijos, orgullosa member de TAP.

Quiero agradecer a los members del Consejo que vota on a favor de la organa organization que limita la colaboration del HPD ICE for un pass in la direction correcta para proteger a nuestras communidades.

Alcalde um Mayor Whitmire and members of the Council.

My name is Sylvia Oliva.

I'm an immigrant, mother of two children, and a proud member of TOP.

First, I want to thank the members of the council that uh voted in favor of the ordinance that limits the collaboration between HPD and ICE.

That was a step in the right direction to protect our communities.

Today I'm here because I am trying to appeal this decision, and I want to express uh express my uh opposing position.

When I drive down 59, I constantly see HPD uh stop work trucks, people that are working to make a living.

And once and once and once again, after that detention, I show up.

This is not about public safety, it's about fear and about racial profiling.

Uh detains uh detainees are not criminals, they're workers, mothers and pet and fathers that are only trying to expired.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you.

Robin Robin Minor.

To be followed by Jose Soto.

Hi.

Can you hear me?

Oh, one of the other.

All right.

Hi.

Good evening, Council members.

My name is Robin, and I'm here because I believe in one core value we all share.

Public safety built on trust.

When people trust their city, they call for help, report crime, and engage in their communities.

When they don't, everyone becomes less safe.

Right now, that trust is being weakened.

The Houston Police Department has increased its contact with immigration and customs enforcement from just a handful of times in past years to over a hundred times in 2025 alone.

Many doing routine traffic stops.

But these are not criminal warrants.

They are civil immigration warrants, and a local police are not required to enforce them.

But these are yet people are being detained longer, contacted, and in some cases transferred to ICE custody.

This just goes beyond public safety.

It creates fear.

Thank you, ma'am.

Next Jose Soto.

To be followed by Tomorrow Baill.

Good afternoon.

My name is Jose Enrique Soto.

My name plus my skin color makes me a target for ICE if they begin to patrol in mass in our city.

You can say I have some skin in the scheme.

Based on some pro-publica accounts, 170 U.S.

citizens have recently been wrongfully detained by ICE.

And that's just one too many, Council members.

But today I'm here as a representative Hope asked me local 123 workers' union of the city of Houston, the sole exclusive bargaining agent for over 11,000 municipal workers and close to 4,000 union members.

Two weeks ago, the vote on this ordinance was the right thing to do.

And thank you all for voting for it, who voted for this.

But now the reality from the state of Texas is hitting the economics of the city and the municipal services are at stake.

Hope members believe we need to amend this ordinance, period.

Why?

It breaks an agreement with the state of Texas.

And let's face it, if we don't get this money and other grants are hit, we could lose up to 2,000 city employees to layoffs.

Um council members, I don't think I need to remind each of you that the moment when the 2.39 million residents of Houston wake up, they rely on municipal workers to provide safe drinking water.

Your time has expired.

Councilman Salinas.

Thank you so much for coming to council.

You mentioned to staff that we could lose up to 2,000 city workers.

What is that based on?

Just the um past uh past budgets, what we're looking at, what if we don't fund this much money?

How we think that's an estimate of what could be asked to uh make up the funding to give back to HPD and other grants.

Did somebody give you that estimate?

No, we've been working on this ourselves.

Okay.

And what particular grants do you think add up to the 2000?

Do you have a list since we don't have a list?

I haven't seen one yet from the administration.

Other than I know that many departments rely on funding from the state.

Uh-huh.

And when we've signed for a grant, we have to sign that we will abide by the rules of the state of Texas.

Thank you.

Councilor Thomas.

Uh, thanks for coming to speak.

These dollars have nothing to do with the general fund.

These are nothing to do with the general fund, which underwrites, which pays for municipal workers' salaries.

Y'all come, y'all are coming soon through the budget.

So I don't want the narrative to go out that city services will be disrupted.

We're talking FIFA.

We're talking, you're right, we're talking FIFA.

We're talking third-party money for us to work with nonprofits to provide victim services.

This is not going to disrupt um personnel.

And so I don't want y'all to feel pressured or the narrative to shape that if we don't um uh move forward with amending the item that it's gonna disrupt the city.

I believe Houstonians are worth more than 110 million dollars, right?

So we have to make some type take some type of position, but we have to also be very clear and accurate about what is and and and solid waste workers are not in jeopardy.

Uh Houston public library uh library workers are not in jeopardy.

These dollars are for public safety.

Um HPD is the beneficiary of this in our in our agency, so we have to disrupt that and stop that narrative today.

And as President Sevens stated, we just want to be heard and show that we are watching and hope we can work together with you to find a solution in the future on this issue.

Thank you.

Thank you, Mayor.

Has anyone in the administration told you that 2,000 employees were going to be fired?

No, sir.

Thank you.

Thank you, Nick.

Tomorrow Bell.

To be followed by James Dixon.

We can remind another date.

Uh, listen, first off, as a former state accountant, uh, for over 15 years.

Yes, pass through pass through grants can't be snatched back by the governor from the federal government to the state to cities and to universities all day long.

That absolutely can't occur.

With that being said, as a former chair of the entire supernatural alliance and the one who brought public safety as a subcommittee, because every super neighborhood was concerned about public safety.

This is a public safety issue.

You see, you all may be young, you may not remember, but they bombed Atlanta when they had the Olympics.

You don't know who the hell coming here.

Our nation right now got more enemies than we had since World War II.

And I mean, you don't know what it's about.

We need that money, and we need it to be here.

You think my black ass ain't been pulled over because I was driving my black, think a damn game.

I have been pulled over with my babies in the back car for nothing.

So, yes, I know those things occur, but you're talking about 35 people, a 2.6 million city population that we should risk losing this money.

Hell no, we shouldn't risk it.

So don't clap for me, because you ain't gonna like what I got to say.

I don't give a damn.

I'm telling y'all, we need to get the money, but you need to work out this situation.

We are not immigration lawyers.

We can't do it here.

Councilor Flickinger.

Miss Bell just wanted to say I enjoyed watching last Sunday.

Thank you, darling.

Councilor Davis.

Tomorrow, hello.

Yes.

First of all, let me ask you a question.

You know, we talk about, we've heard the word profiling.

Yes.

Quite a bit.

Yes.

Um, for those that I'm older than you, and and I've said before, I know what it is.

Yes.

But we don't, you we either decide whether we're gonna live yesterday or today.

Absolutely, and what bothers me about this is that the people coming here are talking about the indignation of the 33 people that were turned over by HPD.

Hell thousands are turned over at Harris County under Edge Gonzalez.

Y'all don't say shit.

I mean, y'all don't say nothing.

Y'all don't say nothing.

But y'all coming down here about the 33,000s daily.

ICIS in the jail.

They're in there.

And you could be in there because you had a taillight busted, you didn't have a driver's license, and that and ice is right there.

But y'all coming here bitching at the city because of the 30-something people.

Y'all need to get this together.

Stefa is in six damn weeks.

We ain't ready.

Damn, spring break was a damn sugar honey ice tea show.

It was.

We are not ready.

We got dead people who died in the bayous.

We still don't know how the hell they got there.

We ain't ready.

The public ain't safe.

Do not return this damn money.

Now, tomorrow, let me bless one, and I'll be done.

In we we know where we live in District D.

Mom, my point is there were several different issues that occurred during the rodeo, yes, during uh other events that we have here.

This is a public safety, and it affects all, trust me.

We get it.

So I just want to know.

You mentioned the county.

Yes, and I've said the people before.

So are you aware that this is went to the county?

Is there is this issues going to the county?

I have no idea if this is went to the county.

I think it must have came up because uh I won't say his name because I can't stand his ass.

He was gonna bring it up, then Thursday, then he repealed it.

So I guess it did come up there.

But I'm telling you all, this is a public safety issue.

That you was spring break was a disaster.

It was.

We were not ready.

You have people who are coming here to commit crimes because the World Cup is here.

We need every surveillance drone, whatever.

You got people who bring in babies in for human trafficking.

We need to protect them.

Don't boom me, I don't give a shit.

Okay, y'all.

Am I done?

Okay.

Thank you.

Hey!

The James Dixon.

Hey, bro, over there and tell them.

Let everybody speak over.

Show your pain over.

No, I'm not praying.

I'm not gonna go.

Ladies, gentlemen.

Everybody.

Let us let us pray.

Mayor and council.

It is a difficult day for all of us here at Houston.

And rightfully so, because this is a very sensitive issue.

And I came today.

I obviously represent the Houston in the ACP.

Clergy.

Concerned citizens.

First of all, I want to say to the mayor and council.

You have a tough job.

I don't think any person in this audience would want to trade places with you if they really understood how tough your job actually is.

Of course.

Go right ahead, James Pastor.

And I'll be extremely concise.

We believe in those values.

And we believe, we believe in following constitutional law.

It is quite evident that this issue has grown to a point where a lot of people's emotions are involved because we have seen historically immigrants and other people of color not treated the same in our city and our state and our nation.

We've observed actions of ICE in other places and here that none of us approve of.

Do you have any questions, Councilmember Pollard?

Move to extend their altar.

Councilman Pollard.

Thank you, Mayor.

Bishop, I want to thank you for coming forward in your leadership.

I know that you have uh looked at this ordinance very thoughtfully, as well as the NAACP.

The NAACP is the foundation of the organization is to protect the civil rights, especially of those of uh people of color.

We've had to use the court system to do it, we've had to use peaceful protest to do it, we've had to use different levels of government to do it, and in this particular moment, it is not a question over support of law enforcement or these particular dollars, but more so a threat of constitutional rights, and to be on the right side of that argument, and but for those outside of protesting, those in here making testimony, us up here on this body many times in our nation's history, but for the actions of those within the NWCP and NAACP and others, we would never have certain advancement or certain rights protected.

And I think it's very important that your voice is heard in this arena, and their perspective of the board of the NAACP is heard, and that speaks volumes for us as as council members.

So I want to say thank you for your leadership.

Thank you, Mayor, and certainly thank you, Bishop.

This has not come up, but we're, of course, we're talking about the World Cup and the World Cup money.

Has anybody considered how the people coming from other countries may feel how safe they feel coming to a city where ICE is allowed to run rampant?

That is my question.

Councilwoman, that is a relevant question.

We have that's so much at stake here.

Local citizens, our friends who are coming from afar, have a right to be concerned, and that's why I think, and I'll try to just pinpoint this.

And that's why I think, and I'll try to just pinpoint this.

Civil discourse is the only way to come to amical solutions that meet the threshold of justice and the best interest of all people.

And I'm asking urgently.

Today, we're on the threshold of either disaster, or we're going to prove that we can come together and not be motivated by what I would call toctic tribalism and understand that we're really one city.

And it's going to take this council, this body, to think through every word in this agreement, in this ordinance, and be honest with ourselves.

If it's for the people, make sure it's for the people.

And I'll say that one more time.

I've been doing this 40 plus years.

I'm getting older.

We know what stuff smells like.

And we need to be determined to get this right.

Roll up our sleeves and not fight in public when we've not developed conversations in private.

Very good.

Councilman Kamer.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um Bishop, thank you for your words and for bringing peace and intentionality to the conversation.

Uh, but also for the NAACP, of which my colleague serves, you are a leader.

There's many others that partner.

I know we have members of the Anti-Defamation League that are here today as well.

Um, but for your stand for civil rights and civil liberties.

One of the things that gives me concern about the changes being put forward again.

We are just now getting them.

So there's a time issue here because I don't think y'all have had time.

But do you after review, does the NAACP plan to come back to provide, like again, you supported the original language?

Are y'all planning to come back or do you want us to like is there a recommendation today?

I was about to say our recommendation is that we get a moment to look at the language, to have some input, to have some dialogue.

It's very difficult to make a decision of your convictions.

We've had a chance haven't had a chance to do that.

And I think it deserves it.

I think it merits it.

But I also believe that we can do this in a way that we can be the model for the state and a model for the nation to say when things get rough, mature leaders come together to do it the right way.

Our recommendation that we do that here.

Thank you.

Thank you, next.

Gabriel Fuller.

Philippe Woods.

Are you Felipe?

To be followed by Emily Haynes.

I will make this, I will keep this brief.

I oppose item 11 that would amend Councilmember Salinas' ordinance that the city attorney found to be in compliance with state and federal law.

Are we going to make our city and our residents less safe?

Especially after, especially after hiding what this ordinance amendment would edit until now.

Are you trying to take us like a bunch of fools?

We're not stupid.

So we oppose this ordinance, and I hope y'all oppose this ordinance because we oppose this ordinance, and we hope y'all oppose this ordinance that stand up for Houstonians everywhere and stand up to uh to the bullies in Austin, Emily Haynes.

He did.

I thought that was her Jess Speeler.

Ruben Garza.

Thank you, Mayor and City Council.

My name is Ruben Garza.

I'm normally representing a couple of organizations, but here I'm on my own accord.

I had some stuff previously prepared, but then I saw the amended ordinance, and I'm just going to briefly say I am an attorney, but I'm not offering legal advice, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

Um just taking a look at some of the amended language here.

This is not up to constitutional snuff, and we're running into a buzzsaw if this gets passed.

Uh I would recommend that the city council further delay and consider different language uh that complies with constitutional procedures, uh, particularly the Fourth Amendment.

And lastly, I do want to say that this entire debate that we're discussing about this ordinance uh exposes Houston's fragility.

We've lost our autonomy, we're fragile, we're a broke city, and we need to get creative on promoting economically resilient communities so we can keep the lights on and our streets safe without the governor or the president's meddling.

So, like you say, Mr.

Mayor, let's get to work on making Houston stronger.

Thank you.

Okay.

To be followed by Connor Vike of Laporte.

Good afternoon, everyone.

First, I want to openly say that I don't know how to do your job, Mayor Whitmeyer, and I try to provide solutions every time we speak because I understand that I have no real understanding of what it takes to be in your leadership position.

But I say what I say and I offer my critiques because simply put, at this point, Houstonians, whether citizens or not, are scared.

Me personally, I'm scared for my friends, my students that I teach, and all Houstonians that make the city great.

Perceived safety is just as important as public safety.

And none of us feel safe if our leader doesn't stand with us and with the leaders that we voted for.

You voted with the majority last week, meaning you did your due diligence and the other council members did their due diligence to ensure that the law that you were voting on was legal.

So doing an about face so quickly and so rapidly does not bode confidence for any of the residents here in the city of Houston.

I understand that you are in a very sticky and horrible predicament, and I understand you want what's best for Houstonians.

But in order to want what's best for Houstonians, you want our safety.

You want us to be safe.

You want us to be here.

And our ability to be here is predicated on you making laws that allow us to feel safe in our community.

So please do not repeal this.

Please do not amend this law.

This is going to be a betterment for the community if we keep the law as is and make residents safer.

Thank you so much.

To be followed by Timothy Taft.

Good afternoon, Council.

I'm glad to speak to you all day today about a subject that is existentially important.

Values.

What are your core values?

What are the drivers behind every decision you went you make, whether they're big or small?

I want us all to think about this during my time and after it.

The value of courage stands out because it makes or breaks all others.

It is the bulwark against our worst tendencies.

For example, if we claim to value justice, but we counter out but we cower out of fear of retaliation when we see injustice.

Living by our values means to constantly invite the discomfort of having them challenged.

But if we are courageous, we can learn to live in that discomfort and emerge on the on the other side better for it.

On the other hand, if we are not courageous, we let challenges to our values shrink them until they are all but non existent.

Your time has expired.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Timothy Taft.

To be followed by Christopher Jenkins.

To the Honorable Mayor Whitmeyer and City Council members.

My name is Timothy Taft.

I live in District F and have resided in Houston since 1968, except for two years in the Army, including a tour in Vietnam.

I served as a Harris County prosecutor for 16 years and a justice on the first Court of Appeals here in Houston for 14 and a half years.

I also served seven years in the Texas Airborne National Guard and 16 years as Deacon and Treasurer of Pine Valley Bible Church.

My wife, who is a native Houston and I continue our 20 years of service to our neighborhood as citizens on patrol.

Thank you for the opportunity to speak in favor of repealing the anti-ICE ordinance.

Illegal immigrants are by definition lawbreakers.

The ordinance elevated the concerns of lawbreakers over law enforcement.

It put police officers in the uncomfortable position of shielding lawbreakers from law enforcement.

So I urge this body to repeal the anti-IS anti-ICE ordinance and return to the mayor's reasonable positive.

Thank you.

Christopher Jenkins.

To be followed by Hi Bowie.

Hello, Selena.

How are you doing, Ms.

Alina?

Councilwoman.

I'm here today to speak on uh the ICE issue.

Um basically uh freezing wood organization, campaign of sustainability economically.

I'm gonna support other ordinance because the state and the federal government has been letting us down for too long.

Every time the state says opportunity for the community to rise, they try to knock us down.

This has led us to humanitarian humanitarian crisis.

In the past years HPD policies has incriminated the uh residents, added uh more to the homelessness, and increased the jail population overcry to jail from no-night warrants to Bosch raids to uh crime lab, tamper cases, defective firearms, abuse of authority, etc.

Uh non-traffic violations, catch and release.

In the past, I've spoken about law enforcement weaponized systems against the citizens within the community.

Uh the HPD union, FOP, all you do is beg for money.

They don't have a standard up for their workers and clients.

District B, while I stayed in has some harassment to citizens.

District J enabled him in traffic.

Good time has expired.

District D public safety, we need to get rid of this governor.

Thank you.

Hi Bowie to be followed by Nikki Lewellan.

Mayor Whitmeyer and Council members.

My name is High Bowie.

I'm the founder of We the People Organize.

I'm here to ask one question, one simple question.

Does HPD have a 287G agreement?

If HPD was participating in the ICE immigration enforcement, there should be a signed memorandum of agreement.

So where is it?

Has this city council seen it?

Has the media seen it?

And if there's no agreement, then Houston deserves answers.

Were officers used without legal authority?

Did they have the required experience?

Did they receive the required ICE training?

And why was money accepted if the legal foundation was missing?

This is not just paperwork.

This is accountability.

No agreement, no excuses, no more games.

So Houston, the 287G paperwork are admitted was never there.

Thank you.

Next Nikki Llewellyn.

She don't look like our chairman.

Ron Carr.

To be followed by Irani Trevino.

Honorable mayor, city council members.

Tomorrow's important vote is what I'm conveying a message about.

And by not allowing our HPD officers to follow the lead of Texas Department of Public Safety and cooperating with ICE.

City Council will be by default the cause of the City of Houston losing 110 million dollars of state federal funding.

Number one, losing the World Cup security funding.

Number two, losing valuable police resources.

Number three, losing community programs.

Number four, losing 10 million dollars of Houston Police Department equipment.

Number five, losing 440,000 of HPD body armor.

Number six, losing 379,000 HPD internet task force funding.

Number seven, losing 50,000 family violence.

Councilmember Kenan.

Do the right thing.

Councilmember Pollard screen, sir to follow Texas DPS lead and fully cooperating with us.

Thank you, Councilmember Pollard.

Thank you, Mayor.

Sir I want to thank you for coming forward.

And there was a finding from our legal department that showed that there was no conflict with state law and that the ordinance that we put forth did not violate SB4, and we specifically tailored it and constructed it so that uh there would be no violation.

And so I do want you to know that up front.

Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Next to be followed by Aubrey Contreras.

Good afternoon.

My name is Erandi Trevino.

I'm here to talk about uh concerns that I have for our communities.

As many people have talked about, Houston is in crisis and it's been there for a while.

But the thing is that our current immigration situation is making things worse because a lot of the people who are being deported are heads of households who are responsible for keeping the lights on for paying the bills, and a lot of families right now are in crisis because now they're losing those people who are helping them uphold those communities.

And so if we were already having close to 50 percent food insecurity, that number is going up.

I'm telling you that number is going up, and the recession is hitting here first before anywhere else in the around the country.

And I want to talk about the comment that we heard earlier.

Um asking people for their papers, and you know, uh you guys are illegal.

These are the types of comments I've heard for as long as I can remember.

I have been asked to show my papers many times, and I'm a U.S.

citizen, so it doesn't really matter if you're here doing it the right way.

We're still victims, and we're still to this harassment just because of the way that we look, and it is not okay.

Councillor Kman, thank you for coming, and I I know this has been hard for you.

Uh it sounded like you wanted to share something else, and again, I know I think you're here with your little one, and I know that's hard to do as well.

So if you need a little bit of extra time, you can have my time.

Thank you so much.

Um, just two more things that I want to mention is it doesn't actually matter where we come from because my ancestors are from this land.

Like, yes, I'm a naturalized citizen, but my my ancestors are from North Mexico and South Texas.

We've been here for a very long time.

My my baby is part Caddo and Comanche.

He's been his people have been here for a very long time.

So it doesn't actually matter where we come from, and it's unfair for us to have to keep defending our right to be here when we're contributing members of this city and of this state.

I work very hard to make my community better all the time.

And the last thing I'll say is that I know that the I heard that the mayor doesn't think that this is a a fight worth having with the governor, but the people of Houston deserve a fight.

The people of Houston deserve the effort.

We we are worth that effort.

Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

Next aubre Contreras to be followed by Carolina Bustos.

Hello, my name is Abre Contreras.

I am part of the Raices Collaborative.

I am talking about something that many of us are worried about, and no one should have to be, especially not kids my age.

I'm only 12 years old, but many kids my age and younger are scared and stressed over ice activity in our city.

At school, I have to listen to peers and teachers make hurtful comments, such as go back to Mexico, or imagine creating a city without immigrants.

And hearing the class laugh and laugh in December.

Laugh.

In December, a teacher asked me if I was being deported because I I said I had to go out of town to Mexico.

I heard about how Houston is receiving threats from Abbott saying he will take the benefits away from us.

And they're saying it's the governor's money.

But that's not true.

Those funds belong to the people because they come from people's tax dollars, from residents contribute.

From people contributing, why do why do they suddenly belong to the governor to do as he wishes?

Do we remember no tax taxation without representation?

Taxpayer, taxpayers did not give taxes to the government.

They pay it with trust that it would help serve the people, not as a gift for the special interest of those voted into office.

The people deserve clarity around why and how our taxpayers' dollars are being paid.

We deserve to be represented and included.

This is our right, unless that's just a lie that we are told in school to keep us happy until we realize it isn't happening.

Happening.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, ma'am.

You said you were 12.

Yes, I'm 12 years old.

I wish uh I could have spoken the way that you just spoke at 12.

And I know, I know that you're speaking on behalf of a lot of, I'm sure your friends that can't speak right now.

Um either your parents in the audience.

Yes, um, my mom.

Well done, but again, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you, Nick.

Carolina.

Carolina Bustos.

Good afternoon, council.

My name is Carolina Bustos.

Money.

In July 2025, the starting salary for Houston for Houston police officer was 81,600.

Last year, City Council voted that officers would receive a total pay bump of nearly 37%.

And now we have HPD overtime spending at an all-time high.

74 million dollars, surpassing the 20 the 45 million budget by 20 by roughly 29 million dollars.

So I understand that some police officers are worried about their funding, but the city has already started has already sacrificed a lot to pay them well and competitively.

We've lost funding for other services.

One senior officer, Matthew Davis.

Annual salary was 90,000.

Davis received 170,000 in just over time alone.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you.

Next Anthony Hubbard, Anthony Hubbard, Davis DeRuzman.

To be followed by Max Maximiliano Diaz.

All right.

Good afternoon, Council members.

Mayor Flipmeyer.

Um I'm in support of keeping the ordinance as is.

You may already know that.

So today I want to do something a little different.

I want to spend the remainder of my time on a little community art project.

It's something I'm working on called called Portraits of Courage and Cowardice.

So I'm just gonna go around and get pictures of each of you.

Uh Mr.

Davis, smile and wave, Councilman Davis.

Yep.

Well, it's it's called accountability, Mayor.

Courage.

I'm looking at courage.

I'm looking at courage, courage, cowardice.

Go ahead, Lady.

Next Maximiliano Diaz.

Maximiliano.

Good afternoon.

We have heard that this ordinance is illegal, that is only symbolic, there risk funding, that draws attention to Houston, and that we should trust officer discretion instead of adopting clear rules.

As you just saw, that's officer discretion.

But the ordinance does one thing.

It makes clear that a stop cannot be prolonged beyond its lawful purpose, and our civil immigration warrant.

Standing alone is not proper cause for arrest or continued detention.

That is not a violation of the state law or any grant agreement.

That's simply a compliance with the Fourth Amendment.

And the mayor's amendment, the phrase and for other legitimate purposes discovered during the detention exists.

That is the exact vagueness that invites unconstitutional prolongation of stops and opens this city up to civil rights lawsuits.

If you adopt language like that, the liability from Ford Amendment violations will make a permanent look small.

Thank you.

Next, Margot Fandridge.

To be followed by Jeremy Peel.

Good afternoon.

My name is Margot Fendrick.

I'm a dis uh resident of District C.

I'm here to urge you to keep the ordinance limiting HPD's cooperation with ICE and to challenge the state's attempt to coerce Houston into repealing it.

Council passed this ordin ordinance because it's the right thing to do and because the law supports it.

This policy is not radical.

It reflects the Fourth Amendment that once a stop is complete, a person cannot be detained without legal authority.

We're being told there's only two choices repeal the ordinance or lose funding.

But that is a false choice.

The state's threat to withhold public safety funding is unlawful coercion.

Legal experts have made clear that the city has a strong case, and when you fight, you often win.

Houston should defend this policy and stand up for the rights of its residents.

Don't surrender our rights to a bully.

Thank you.

Jeremy Peel to be followed by Cher Dawson.

All right, it's going around, so I'll start.

Good afternoon, Council.

My name is Jeremy Peel, and I'm an attorney living in District C.

A week ago during public session, the mayor said, quote, it's time to quit having outside sources come in and give their legal opinions.

Well, Mayor, then let's talk about the opinion of your very own legal department.

Members of council, what you have before you is the memo from the city attorney's office addressing this ordinance, which I obtained through a Texas Public Information Act request.

If you turn to the highlighted text on pages three and four, you'll see that this memo citing both U.S.

Supreme Court and Texas case law makes clear that prolonging a traffic stop, even briefly without reasonable suspicion of a crime raises serious Fourth Amendment concerns.

For example, in St.

George v.

State, one of the Texas cases cited, the court held that after the purpose of a traffic stop has been completed, continued detention is unlawful without reasonable suspicion of criminal activity.

And we've already stated an ICE administrative warrant is civil, not criminal, and does not provide that justification.

So the issue before you today is not political, it's constitutional.

The case law is clear and it's already been identified by our own city attorney's office.

Each of you sitting in the horseshoe took an oath to uphold the constitution, not selectively, not when it's convenient, but always.

And if there's concerns about litigating this in a Texas court, this is a federal constitutional issue.

The case brought by the attorney general can be removed to a federal court where judges are less influenced by state officials.

So I urge you follow the law, follow your oath, do not amend or appeal this ordinance and allow the city attorney's office to defend it.

Thank you.

To be followed by Tracy Gibson.

Hello, Council and Mayor.

Either one right here.

Perfect.

Can you hear me?

Yes, ma'am.

Hello, Council Mayor.

My question is why is this issue such a priority?

Well the issues we have going on in the city of Houston, water problems, the constitutional funds, district B are not being used for our communities that we need.

Why is this so important?

These people broke state and federal law by coming into our country illegally.

They have to follow a law.

When driving wild black, where's the ordinance for us?

We never had that before.

What about all the Hispanics who voted highly for Trump?

What about them and Brianna's district?

Adrian Garcia, do they agree with this ordinance?

No.

Everybody have to follow the constitutional law of American citizens.

It was not for illegals.

And Selena's I met with you at your office, and I told you, do not push the agenda.

And what did you do?

You ain't been in that seat six months, and you won't hear pushing agenda.

We got more serious issues to deal with in this country and this city than for illegal immigrants.

Follow state law.

Become legal citizens the right way.

Go home and come back.

They don't like it in Mexico.

They won the lotteries in China, and they won loudice in Japan.

It's not right.

Don't spend my time up now.

Now they could be disrespectful and not beat mom for my time.

But tell me anything I said ain't true.

Ma'am.

They don't break state and federal house.

Ma'am.

We have a border for a reason.

Please talk to us and yield to Councilman K.

Okay, Celine.

Ma'am, I'm gonna request that you not personally attack members of this council.

I didn't attack her.

I said I spoke to her at home.

At her campaign headquarters.

I did not attack her.

So don't put words in my mouth.

Ma'am.

Be respectful.

Ma'am.

I want to clarify something.

Because there are a lot of people listening and there are children listening.

There are citizens of the United States being illegally detained by ICE at the moment.

Do they have a paperwork?

Yes.

And ma'am, no.

There is no.

Do they have any paperwork?

There is no, there is no requirement for a U.S.

paper.

There is no requirement for a U.S.

citizen to show papers to anyone.

So while we have ICE and DHS, the case is my I'm gonna keep talking because this is my time.

We have had an eight-year-old.

We have to be a city, state, and laws and the rules are ordered.

Thank you.

Every continent has this.

Councilman Salinas.

Salinas.

Mayor.

Why is the problem?

Point of order.

It is my time.

I would like to finish my statement.

And then I'm going to go ahead and do that.

But I don't think you're going to change either one of your questions.

I'm not trying to change anybody's mind.

Can I have uh this to answer my question?

I was speaking to her.

I don't even know her.

You don't ask your questions.

We ask your questions up here.

Well, I asked you.

Councilman Cayman.

Councilman Cayman.

Thank you, Mayor.

And I'm happy to have the next speaker come up and say what I need to say so that this woman can step down given her time is up.

Well, tell me I said anything was false.

It is false.

Councilmember Salinas.

Where are your paperwork?

Okay.

Thank you for coming to council.

I don't believe I misrepresented anything to you, but my team is here.

Please meet with them, Bryce Randall or Chris Chu.

We'd be happy to schedule a meeting and sit down, answer any questions you have to address any concerns you have.

But I would be more than happy to sit with you at your convenience and talk this through.

So it was a part of this issue, all the issue we have in the city of Houston.

This was the priority.

There are many important issues before the city of Houston.

As you know, and if you look at my policy page, we are focused on a number of them.

This happens to be the first proposition A that a number of us put forward.

But I am committed to working on several issues, including illegal dumping, worker safety, infrastructure, and so many more.

But as you know, I just got to council.

Yes, ma'am, but I remain wholly committed to working on those issues, hopefully together to get things done for the city.

But please know I have no intention of ignoring that promise to you.

Okay, very well.

Councilman Cayman.

Mayor, for the record, I do want to point out that an 18-year-old high school senior who had legal status was deported.

I want to point out that there are citizens that have had, excuse me, not citizens, legal asylum seekers in this city, in this region, in this state that have had their status unilaterally withdrawn in court with ice waiting right there for them.

So the narrative and the dialogue, as Bishop Dixon said.

We can do this civilly, and we can engage in what is council's lawful authority to debate and to discuss on critical issues.

But facts are facts about what is happening, and the law is the law.

Thank you.

Thank you, ma'am.

Next, Tracy Gibson.

To be followed by Sophia Sager.

All right.

12 to 5.

That's the vote that passed Prop A.

But it's also the two-third vote needed last Friday to repeal it, and you didn't have it.

Now we're talking about an amendment because that only takes nine votes.

It's infuriating to watch performative politics play out in real time.

My name is Tracy Gibson, and I am the chair of the Harris County Democratic Party.

But I am also an attorney.

And if it were truly any legal issue with this ordinance, it would have never passed legal, and it would have never made it to this floor for a vote.

It was sponsored by three attorneys.

It was passed by the city attorney, and it was passed by 12 of you who voted for it, including you, Mayor, who are also an attorney.

If Ken Paxton had any good case, he would have filed his lawsuit right here in Harris County instead of in Fort Bend.

His case is weak, and therefore Houston must fight it.

This ordinance says HPD can't hold us without legal cause.

That's the Fourth Amendment, and it is all of our rights.

And to surrender to any extortion attempt by the governor is to say that our rights are negotiable.

Today it's this ordinance, tomorrow it's something else.

You took an oath to us, Houstonians.

Every vote cast in this chamber tomorrow will be remembered when we cast our votes in 2027.

Councillor Salinas.

Madam Chair, thank you so much for joining us today.

Um I assume you're in discussion with our Texas Democrats around the state.

Can you tell us what other cities are doing in response to Governor Abbott's threats?

Yes.

So Austin and Dallas are both holding firm.

Austin has been threatened to lose over $2 million.

Dallas has been threatened to lose over 87 million dollars, and Dallas is saying they will respond to Greg Abbott's little letter, but they are not going to be repealing anything.

And so Houston, the fourth largest city in America, needs to do the same and hold strong and take this fight to court.

That is what we need to be doing and not capitulating.

Thank you.

Hugo Chavaria.

To be followed by J.K.

Washington.

Okay.

Um hi how's it going, guys?

Um I'm here to speak on this issue between ICE and HPD regarding the cooperation that currently exists.

Uh this journey for me started about six months ago when I reached out to several council members to discuss what then was titled the community trust and safety ordinance.

Um in relation to that.

I believe that there should be no reason to repeal or amend this current uh ordinance, but in fact, I think it doesn't go far enough to protect the majority of our community that is currently dealing with the fallout from what's happening at the federal level.

Uh I believe that what we should be doing here is protecting our citizens.

I think that the posturing on your part, Mayor, to vote yes and then quickly flip is cowardly.

It doesn't reflect well on our city, and I believe that for that reason, you'll see 2027 won't be as forgiving as for you.

And I think that you deserve to be out of your seat.

Thank you.

Next, J.K.

Washington.

To be followed by Charles Dillner of Cyprus.

Good afternoon, Mayor and City Council members.

I'm Ken Wash from Tasca Cedar and District E.

I'm here due to concern from our community about city council proposals to inhibit local law enforcement from working with federal law enforcement, specifically ICE.

In 24 years of law enforcement between the state, city, and now county, I've never seen government officials create obstacles like now to prevent law enforcement from doing their job, especially when it would make our communities less safe.

We've always worked with federal agencies, whether it was DHS, ICE, the Marshall Service, FBI, et cetera, especially if we came into contact or knowledge of an individual being wanted.

The public statements I've heard from the council have created hysteria distrust instead of understanding of the rules and responsibilities of local law enforcement and federal agencies.

The city council serves as a primary legislative body for the city of Houston responsible for passing local laws, ordinances, adopting annual budget and approving expenditures.

Nothing there about enforcing uh enforcing the laws, making arrests, investigating criminal cases, working with your law enforcement partners.

Lethal law enforcement functions of those leaders elected or appointed to those roles.

Let the laws, policies, and constitution dictate their jobs, not your idea of what should be.

Thank you.

Councilmember Pollard.

Thank you, Mayor.

Sir, thank you for coming for you said you are a Texas peace officer.

Correct.

All right.

Under the um Supreme Court.

It was held that Texas peace officers may conduct warrant checks during traffic stops.

But such checks cannot be used to extend the detention once the reasonable suspicion forming the basis for the stop has been dispelled.

Do you agree with that?

So, sir, I'm assuming you're assuming a probable cause on a stop.

No, I'm just asking you about that.

No, my question to you I'm clarifying what you're asking.

No, no, no.

You don't have to clarify.

I'm asking for a yes or no.

Do you agree with that statement that that is the law of the land?

That they can stop and detain.

Texas peace officers may conduct warrant checks during traffic stops, but such checks cannot be used to extend the detention once the reasonable suspicion forming the basis, forming the basis for the stop has been dispelled.

Do you agree with that?

That's partially true.

You are leaving something out.

Thank you, sir.

Councilmember Davis.

Thank you for coming, Mr.

Watch.

Uh, you can finish your explanation in regards to that uh the question.

I'm gonna give you time to explain it.

So in my lifetime and working in law enforcement, as well as speaking with my peers in law enforcement across the country, an individual is not gonna be detained if you don't have probable cause.

If it exists, he can detain them until in this case, which we're talking about ICE, he can contact the agency to respond to him and pick up individuals being properly detained.

From the time that I started my career in 24 years to now, that response time has significantly improved.

So the 30 minutes to depend on the city, whether you're somewhere like the city of Houston or where you're in the middle of mess west Texas, would it be applicable time if that individual has probable cause to detain them?

It depends on the situation and scenario.

Now I do believe it would be a reasonable have someone out there all day if you're not gonna get someone to pick them up.

That's absolutely ridiculous.

But when that individual has been properly detained, especially when you have suspicion where he's involved in other crimes that have been committed, you do need to make sure the proper authorities are there or take them over to a local sheriff's officer and drop them off so he can be released to that authority there.

Are you through, sir?

Sir, yes, sir.

Councilmember Pollard.

Thank you, Mayor.

I'm reading specific case law that speaks to detention of the reasonable suspicion that's forming the basis of the stop.

So you have reasonable suspicion based on broken tail light, speeding, no seat belt.

Correct.

That is the basis of the stop.

Based on case law, once the basis of that stop has been complete, then you would be in violation of the Fourth Amendment for extending that detention beyond the basis of the original stop.

Yeah, uh do you agree with that?

Correct.

Yes, sir.

I'm just asking a yes or no.

That's correct, but you're still leaving out the other part that you're you're seeming to be skating over.

Thank you, sir.

The part that you're skating over.

Thank you, sir.

Okay.

Councilman.

Go ahead and finish your comment.

Well, the what he is leaving out is that yeah, based off of the initial traffic stop, whether it's the tail light or speeding or whatever it may be that caused the initial contact with the individual, that would be the initial part stop.

But the probable cause would exist when you find the individual is in possession of something.

He's the suspect in the crime, whether that individual is here and he has a warrant for his arrest elsewhere.

This is not a good idea.

Sir Councilman Kmall.

Yeah, Mayor, I and sir, thank you for your service.

Thank you for your time.

Um I don't want to litigate at the horseshoe with individuals, their right to speak and their right to to comment and upine on the law and their service.

So I I want to thank you for that.

We are confusing and muddying when you have discovered something in the middle of a traffic stop versus detaining somebody longer than that lawful traffic stop and the criminal purpose attached to that.

For example, earlier case law was stated citing Rodriguez.

And Rodriguez, they literally the Supreme Court said even an eight-minute stop, dog sniff beyond the issuance of that ticket, was impermissible.

The evidence that they found in a criminal act.

Now I want the bad guys off the streets, regardless of immigration status, and I trust local law enforcement to be able to do their job if there is probable cause that a crime is ongoing.

But when it's a civil, let's say traffic stop, there is not necessarily the local authority to detain beyond that.

So I just I want us to be clear because we're throwing out a lot of legal lease and things like that, but there are distinctions between probable cause, criminality, evidence taken during that stop versus beyond that stop, et cetera.

So again, I I appreciate that, and I just I don't I don't like that we're each throwing everything out without a nuanced, teased out approach to what we're saying.

Thank you, Councilman Cammy.

May I respond?

Sure.

So I I clearly understand that, and most law enforcement across the country understands that.

And we do understand that we have a time frame in regards to how we can and when we can't detain the individual.

That's why we have laws on the book already currently, as well as policy.

And my policy for my agency may be different from HP is wherever it may be.

But allow those agents to do their job without adding other hindrances to them being able to and throwing into the mix saying, well, they have a time frame where they can't contact ICE or whatever.

Right now, there's chaos going on in cities.

I've been to other major cities in America, and I've asked my colleagues the problems they're having with just trying to do a basic day-to-day job because of all these other issues that are included.

Let them do their job, and if you find a reason or find an issue with it, I 100% agree with that.

And nothing in the ordinance, just to be clear, nothing in the ordinance prohibits or limits HPD's ability to contact ICE.

So the question comes, why are you adding an ordinance where we already have law?

Because there was an illegal and improper policy that was put forward that put a time limit of 30 minutes.

And there, as you know, with your extensive law enforcement background, there is no time delay on constitutional protections, period.

Sir, uh Councilmember Pollard.

Thank you, Mayor.

In our original proposal, we authored that HPD officers would be given discretion so that they could use their professional judgment based on the circumstances and experience to make a call on whether or not to detain that person.

You know, this person isn't causing a harm or threat.

We could let that person go.

Do you, in your professional opinion, believe that that is something that would be a benefit to law enforcement to having that discretion?

Well, we already have that discretion.

That's what I explained to you.

We've always had that discretion.

Some policies have curtailed, I'm sorry, some agencies have curtailed that policy due to manpower or agents of the or whatever the area is.

And my question, that's why I was asking when you made that statement.

Why are you adding to something that they already have the discretion to do?

Because we had no ordinance on the book that spoke to that specifically, and they had different law enforcement agencies in the area and in the region that all had different policies.

Correct.

Correct.

I agree with you.

But that's up to the agency, that agency has their policy for a reason to address those concerns or issues.

You're adding to an added hidden to being able to do their job when in this case, the police chief would answer to the um to the Marin City Council in regards to any complications or issues with that policy, how it's being affected on the street to work with the Federal Law Enforcement Agencies.

Again, I don't work for HPD, but I've worked for other agencies, and our agencies, everyone I've worked for, has a slightly different variable, but time frame may vary based off the area itself.

But putting a time restriction of 30 minutes is unconstitutional.

You what's the difference between 29 minutes and 31 minutes?

It's it's arbitrary.

So to say maybe a reasonable amount is maybe different than 30 minutes, but to put a 30-minute time clock on someone's rights uh is in violation of the Fourth Amendment.

That that is that is clear.

If if the other factors don't play into that, I got that.

I clearly understand that.

Okay.

As I say, as and that was what I explained to you.

If the other factors exist all we're talking about without without all these other hypotheticals, just on its face.

Correct.

Okay, thank you.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

Thank you for your service.

Next Charles Dilloner of Cyprus, to be followed by Stephen Johnson.

Honorable mayor and your team.

I was supposed to have three minutes.

I was wondering if you could uh grant me that time to get through it all.

I love Houston because of the great international diversity and opportunity, but safety is my number one policy.

I am here speaking for hundreds of thousands, millions of people of the greater Houston area who cannot be here.

I'm afraid to live in this city, state, and country.

All because it has become unsafe, caused by all politicians' upheaval of justice and safety for the American citizen, which occurred through the authors of Proposition 8 and County 428.

My wife is an immigrant.

She came in illegally.

We went through the immigration process legally.

She's a U.S.

citizen.

There's nothing wrong with the immigration process and following the laws.

I left my duties to express my utter disappointment or the risk of Houston losing 110 million public time has expired.

Putting U.S.

citizens at risk due to the recently pushed immigration ordinance members of the city.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Nick.

So if you would please repeal this, that previously Stephen Johnson.

To be followed by Charlene Jones.

Good afternoon.

We hear a lot of talk about wanting immigrants to come the right way.

But did the United States act in the right way when they overthrew democratically elected governments, when they fomented civil wars, when they in many ways caused the conditions that drive forced migration that forced people to leave their homelands?

If we want to talk about law and order and conforming to the law, let's take a look at ICE.

The city should not bend over backward to cooperate in every possible way, beyond what state law requires with Trump's rogue band of lawless armed thugs for terrorizing Houston's immigrant population, breaking up families, destroying livelihoods, and deporting many into the same life-threatening conditions that they took desperate steps to escape.

Enough is enough.

It's time for Houston city leaders to stop whiffling and waffling over whether or not to protect the government.

Members of our community.

Thank you.

Next Charlene Jones.

Shelton Modellas.

Elizabeth Mendoza.

William Brooker.

Oh, is this okay?

Uh your Elizabeth.

Good afternoon, City Council.

My name is Lizzie, and I live in District I, and I'm here to ask City Council to not repeal the Salinas ordinance.

Our community in District I has been hit with raids, and ICE has been detaining so many of our community members.

They are not just numbers.

And it's so frustrating that this city benefits so much from the culture of immigrants and yet is hesitant to try and do something to help them.

So many families are living in fear, and this ordinance was a small hope that Houston cared enough to try and do something to protect them.

I'm an immigration paralegal, and throughout the years, I've had so many clients that have been pulled over and detained for driving without a driver license.

We live in a country that limits people's ability to obtain a work permit depending on which application they have pending.

We live in a state that does not allow families to obtain driver license, and we live in a city that has a poor public transportation system, leaving people with no other option.

These families cannot win against a system that functions when they're working against them.

You are city council have the power and the resources to fight back against Greg Abbott's threats, and we're asking you to please continue to put in place the Salinas ordinance and fight back against Greg Abbott in court.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Council Castilla.

Councilmer Castillo.

Councilman Castillo.

Thank you.

I move to suspend the rules to move Terry Chin to the bottom of the three-minute agenda list to follow Raymond Brackens.

Maiden seconded all in favor say yes.

Those opposed name motion passed.

Hi, my name is William Brooker, and I live in District C, and I'm here today to express my opposition to this amendment that apparently allows removes any of the mild limits on the amount of time and effort that the Houston police department can divert from fighting violent crime to instead help ICE as they hunt our immigrant communities.

There are several dangers of this repeal that I want to address.

The first is that every minute that a Houston police officer is helping ICE is a minute that they're not doing the job that we hired them to do.

And that's going to lead to more overtime, and that's going to lead to more payments that we can't afford.

Sarah Saeed.

To be followed by VIFAM.

My name is Sarah.

I serve as the policy manager at Woody Juntos.

This amendment to this ordinance is insufficient.

It's the city's responsibility to protect the public health safety and welfare of its people.

That distinction matters.

And it's part of why cities across Texas and the country are carefully defining how their resources are used and ensuring that enforcement actions simply remain safe.

Please honor your community and please honor the people of Houston.

Good evening, Council.

My name is V FAM, and I am the organizing and policy director at Wuri Juntos.

Governor Abbott is working overtime to turn our local police into ICE agents.

By threatening to withdraw funding from cities that protect constitutional rights, he is engaging in straight-up bullying.

I urge this council do not give in to state intimidation.

Take this fight to the courts where it belongs.

Governor Abbott is not above the Fourth Amendment.

If we allow state threats to dictate Houston's laws, what kind of precedent are we setting?

I am urging the mayor and city council to stand with your community.

Fight for the Houston we deserve and do not bow down.

We are stronger when we are together.

We must not let them divide us.

You cannot boast about being the most diverse city in America and then throw what makes this city diverse under the bus.

I ask that you vote no on any repeals or amendments to the immigration procedures ordinance tomorrow.

Stand firm, protect everyone in Houston, and take this fight to the courts.

Thank you.

Sabine Laza.

Sabi Raza.

Alfredo Dominguez.

To be followed by Carolina Martinez.

Hey, good afternoon, Council.

Um Alfredo Lomingues, uh policy uh organizer, person at People's Council.

Um I'm here today.

I usually come here to talk about non-safety traffic stops.

But today I really wanted to come and talk about just the one I I've heard a lot of things said today which were frustrating and infuriating or different forms of uh of the setting, but one thing that's kind of stuck out to me is this idea that we're putting immigrant issues over, especially to someone like me who has continually talked about non-safety traffic stops, and I've been here to testify about a myriad of issues having nothing to do with immigration specifically.

And to me, it's really frustrating that we're getting taken to this charge as if this issue is being the only one we're focusing on a city when this is like thousands of people are impacted in our city by this issue.

And I think that to me it's not even necessarily about this ordinance.

We have a really big question in front of us is which is who runs the city of Houston?

Is it the Houston Police Officers Union?

Is it Governor Abbott or is it the duly elected representatives of the city?

Because at the end of the day, how what is stopping?

Let's say we do back down on this.

How what is stopping Abbott from any policy he doesn't like, whether that's affordable housing, whether that's investing in maternal health care, whether that's any of the number of issues that this governor and this federal administration don't have.

What is stopping them from pulling funding then?

Thank you.

Carolina Martinez.

Kirsten Budwine.

To be followed by Stephanie Padilla from Tombaugh.

Greetings, Mayor and Council members.

My name is Kirsten Budwine.

I'm a policy attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project, and we've only been able to um just review the amended ordinance, but at first glance, we first want to say we appreciate maintaining the reporting requirements in the or in the ordinance, but otherwise, this is a repeal under the guise of an amendment.

The change to Section C specifically allows for other legitimate purposes to be a reasoning a traffic a traffic stop goes beyond what is reasonably necessary to complete the legitimate purpose of the initial stop.

This creates confusion and expi explicitly gives HPD discretion to go beyond what the Fourth Amendment allows.

At CCRP, as TCRP's legal director pointed out last week, the ordinance as written not only fixes HPD's unconstitutional directive, but despite what the AG is claiming, it promotes public safety.

City leadership owes it to the people who elected them to flex its muscle as a home rule city and stand for this lawful common sense ordinance that simply clarifies constitutional standards and promotes accountability.

Thank you, ma'am.

Thank you.

Stephanie Padilla to be followed by Norma Gonzalez.

Hello, everybody.

My name is Steffi and I am with IYT.

We are a grassroot organization that basically is the voice of our youth here in Houston.

They're asking us to repeal the ordinance and porch HPD into an exact policy they just defunded.

Abbott needs HPD to cooperate with ICE.

He's trying to strip the funding that pays for it.

We are asking officers to enforce a policy that the state won't fund.

That's hypocrisy.

At my event Sunday here at City Hall, we had more law enforcement than we did community members.

That's excessive and wasteful.

We're spending money we don't have on enforcement we don't need.

Mayor, let's stop bending to ultimatums.

Look at this from a business standpoint.

Audit our budget, find the waste.

Let's restructure where overspending is being happening in our enforcement agencies.

There's way to there's ways to solve this without sacrificing our community and our values.

We just have to get creative enough to find them for our community, for our children, and for our city, because I hate to say this, but you are wrong.

The only opinion that should matter is our historians who you serve.

Thank you.

And before I leave, I asked you to reach out to me regarding all of the walkouts that were going to happen, and you never did.

And what did we see?

We saw kids being exposed.

So again, I'll urge you to please somehow work together.

Thank you.

If you truly care about the city and its community members.

Norma Gonzalez.

To be followed by Demaris Gonzalez.

Her name is Damaris.

My name is Norma Gonzalez.

I am the Latin community navigator at Wuri Juntos.

I have lived in Houston for nearly 20 years.

Coming here today, I am going to explain this very simply.

Since, like we have heard, this is a common sense ordinance.

Yet we are all here because we have been gaslit into having to over-explain to every single one of you what is happening.

A traffic stop should be just that, a traffic stop.

Instead, now police are contacting ICE.

Other police departments do not do this.

Why should they here in Houston?

Since 2025, our Houston police has played sidekick with ICE over a hundred times.

This is not normal, and our community can feel it.

We are afraid to live, to drive, and to call for help.

We are being silenced.

Just like today, you limited our time in speaking after changing and rescheduling and confusing us all, just to be buckling under Greg Abbott.

This isn't leadership.

This is a toxic relationship.

And Houston deserves better.

Vote no.

Thank you.

To be followed by Raymond Brackens.

Good afternoon, City Council members.

My name is Amarius Gonzalez, and I'm a community organizer with the Texas Organizing Project.

Thank you to Councilmember Salinas and those who voted to pass proposition A.

This is a step in the right direction and brings needed relief to immigrant families in our city.

I am here to ask you to stand firm and reject any appeal of this ordinance.

What we're seeing from Governor Abbott is intimidation.

We are human beings.

We have rights.

We deserve to live in peace and provide for our families.

Without fear.

HPD should be focused on protecting our communities, not doing the work of ICE by targeting people who are simply driving to work or mothers taking their children to school in the morning.

If this ordinance is overturned, we are choosing fear and division over or bias.

That is not the Houston strong that we need.

Thank you.

Raymond Brackens.

To be followed by Hernan Castaño.

Thanks.

Good evening, Mayor and City Council members.

My name is Ray Brackens, longtime Houston resident, a member of the Texas organizing project here in the third order.

I'm here because I am concerned about the pressure to weaken Houston's immigration procedures ordinance and expand local cooperation with ICE.

This is both a public safety and a constitutional issue under the Fourth Amendment.

Any detention must be reasonable in purpose and duration.

According to Rodriguez versus United States, the Supreme Court made clear that law enforcement cannot extend the stop without independent legal authority.

An ICE detainer is not a judicial warrant.

An ICE detainer, it does not justify prolonged detention on its own.

So the standard is not until ICE arrives.

The standard is whether officers currently have lawful authority to continue holding someone.

And when people fear that routine, encounters can turn into an extended detention based on immigration statuses.

They stop trusting public systems, public police hospitals, city services.

That makes Houston less safe, not more.

So I urge you to stand firm on the ordinance you passed.

It's legally sound and grounded in due process.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hernan Castaño.

To be followed by Terry Chin.

Thank you, Honorable Mayor and City Council members.

I'm Pastor Hernan Costano.

I do serve as the director of the Houston Area Pressures Council.

I'm not speaking on behalf of the Houston Area Preston's Council today.

I'm speaking for myself, but I do represent a lot of the Latino churches.

The immigration crisis is a real crisis.

It's a divided nation, and we have divided cities.

I say pastor, I'm speaking out from my own heart as I see the devastation of many families.

I'm just within my new book out of immigrants.

And I'm very concerned, and let me just remind you of one simple thing.

Two thousand years ago, an illegal immigrant came to save this world named Jesus.

He was speaking like a criminal.

And for 30 pieces of silver, the truth was solved.

My reference to that is I'm asking you, make the wise decision.

Make the right decision, but not under the pressure for money or 30 pieces of silver.

You I trust that the Houston City police can do a good job as well if you.

And I'm speaking as a pastor.

Live the truth, stay as the truth, and let it not be pressure for the exchange of money.

There's a lot of families being affected by this, and a lot of children are being affected by this.

And therefore, as a pastor, I'm speaking out of my heart today.

Your time has expired.

Thank you, Pastor Castaño.

Thank you for uh your willingness to show up today.

Thank you for your leadership.

Um we have worked together um for a variety of things to make sure that our shared constituency that they're taken care of.

And so I know that you speak on behalf of so many families.

Um they are coming to your church as a front door as a safe haven.

They're serving our communities, they're working for their families, they're doing all that they can.

Um, so I appreciate um your leadership as a man of faith.

And I I know that um your words are resonating with me, um, and that we're on the same page uh on the page with that, and I hope that your words resonate with my colleagues as well.

Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Thank you.

Councillor Davis.

Hanon, good to see you, my friend.

We, as you know, we have worked quite a bit on the minister advisory board.

This subject has come up in our meeting on several occasions, and we've addressed it in regards to all of the ministers across our denominational faith.

We have multiple denominations, but I also know that you and I also agree that in terms of our trust with law enforcement and the law, and the law, and we brought that subject up on many occasions.

But I'm glad and thank you for coming down and expressing uh your sincere heart in this matter.

All right.

I just want to say thank you.

And and I I will wish that pastors, and you have done a great job with that, and thank you to our mayor on allowing us to do that.

But I wish that out of our the pastors do get a chance to see what this is orders is all about.

It's very hard when we have not read it and we have not understand it completely.

So therefore, I'm speaking as a pastor today, out of a heart that understands law and order and justice, but at the same time, forgiveness and mercy, and to do what's morally right and hold up the truth without the exchange of pressure for money.

Absolutely.

And you do know that we have the idea of it is that a lot of people, even when the ordinance was written, was not introduced to many people, civic association, HOAs, and people spoke about that even to super neighborhoods.

So it's been on both sides.

We talk about the transparency of what the understanding of it, and then in course, as you know, in our meetings, we bring people in the then the minister of board to the mayor, we bring everybody to the meeting that we meet once a month.

And as a vice president of that group, and you know every opportunity we use.

Yes, many of our colleagues have that opportunity to bring it to others as well, other than just here in this chamber, and which that has not been done.

But so I just want to be clear about the information being transparent.

No, definitely.

I definitely agree with that.

Thank you, my friend.

Thank you.

I leave my books here, just in case you want one copy of them.

I just speak out of the heart on this.

Terry Chin.

To be followed by Daryl Harper.

I am Terry Chen, and I'm a community organizer with Woody Junto serving immigrant communities.

We are here today asking y'all to stand strong.

Do not back down to threats from the state, who's trying to restrict our Fourth Amendment rights.

When the federal and state government are attacking us, our last line of defense is y'all.

Mayor, who is not here.

Uh you are not an instrument of the state.

Y'all are elected to represent your constituents and uphold all of our rights.

The ordinance has been reviewed by attorneys and legal experts.

We know it is sound, and if y'all back down now, the state will know that they can wield their power at any of their whims over our local elected government.

So please hold strong and support the ordinance without any amendments.

Jesus would Darrell Harper.

Jesus.

Gladys House Ale.

To be followed by Joshabed Henley.

Correct Mike.

Okay.

Um I'm just here to request that Wiley Park in historic Freedmanstown be placed on that list of 11 city parks to uh receive the four million dollars in renovation.

All of you don't do not have the pictures, but um some of the key people, Abby Hazett, the mayor, and Julian Ramirez.

So if I'm not gonna take up much time, but if you all would please consider Wiley Park so that we can stop being overlooked and be given justice because we pay taxes too.

Appreciate it.

Councilman Kamer.

Councilmember Kamer.

Thank you.

Gladys, I'm sorry I ran back in because uh what you're talking about is a really important community park in the heart of Freemanstown.

Um, and I appreciate your voice on this.

We had uh several years ago done a community tour and we brought the parks department out to look at all the issues, and that's how we got the funding added into the CIP for the park improvements, but it keeps getting pushed back, and so I appreciate your voice being here today.

Other community members that are continuing to advocate because we can't keep seeing it pushed and pushed and pushed.

Now, there are needs throughout the city, but this is something that has been planned, this has been fought for, and this is a community park that uh has so much meaning than just a park.

And I don't want to diminish you know parks in general, but I want to recognize the importance of this park in particular.

Yeah, because I know Julian or Councilmember Ramirez, he had pushed for us getting uh Wiley Park uh repaired uh a couple of years ago.

It's been and um he was assured that it was gonna happen by the end of that year, and nothing happened.

Yeah, so we need to get some corrective action real quick.

No, again, I appreciate it very very much.

Thank you.

All right, thank you.

Next speaker, Yoshabed Henley to be followed by Rashim Mohammed, thank you for having me.

Every one of the mics, either one.

Okay, thank you for having me.

Uh I've been here uh initially in uh 2021, informing uh the city council members that I'm not from here, and I was led here by our Heavenly Father to protest against the development of the residential construction act, the 3300 block of mantrals, because there is an oil well located there.

There is an oil well, it is in abundance commercial quantity, and what the Lord is informing us will be unprecedented.

I'm not from here.

I was led here and made known that the oil well is there.

Your time has expired, Mr.

And one last thing.

He mentioned to me that there will be an oil in Bago, and that is why he made known to us that oil well located at 3300 Block Montrose.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Nick, Rashim Mohammed.

George Gibson.

To be followed by Michael Baker.

Good afternoon, Mr.

Mr.

Mayor and Council.

I'm here on behalf of the Briar Grove Homeowners Association to talk about a noise ordinance issue regarding the Camp Nightclub on West Timer.

And specifically, I'm here to address that we've been told many times that when our people, it's a real quality of life issue.

That they should make calls and report it on the non-emergency line.

I understand it's not an emergency.

But that means that they're down on the list and there never is a response.

We have off-duty HPD officers who patrol our neighborhood that are peace officers.

They have the authority to issue tickets and to make arrests to enforce the law.

However, they have been told that they cannot make uh they they have the proper HPD equipment to measure the sound, to write a ticket.

However, they have been told that they cannot do that.

And the reason why is they said that the city attorney has advised that there's a conflict of interest because they are working off duty.

Your time has expired.

Thank you.

Go ahead and finish.

And that certainly has the attention of HBD.

Okay.

They're actively working that location.

Thanks to Councilman Huff and bringing it to our attention a couple weeks ago.

So thank you for being here.

All right.

Huffman's in the queue.

Councilman Huff.

Thank you, and thank you for coming, Mr.

Gibson.

We really appreciate you being here and being an advocate for your neighborhood.

This has been an ongoing issue, and I've discussed it, you know, extensively with the mayor.

Um, and we are working with the captain out at Midwest who um is really taking this issue seriously, and it's gonna improve.

And and if I may, Captain Salina spoke with us at our meeting a few weeks ago, and he seemed frustrated that he felt like his hands were tied, and if we could uh get the this issue, I I just fail to understand how it can be a conflict of interest.

All right.

Thank you.

Councilmember Kamen.

Um George, I just want to thank you for being here.

I know it takes time out of your day.

Uh and with everything that you do, you also are very involved in the community on many, many issues.

So I our district and district C has grappled with uh something very similar.

I know your council member is fighting hard, uh, but I just I wanted to lift up that there's a lot of residents around the city that are faced with this significant challenge.

Uh and again, when we talk about law enforcement resources, uh we need more time focused on those issues too.

Right.

Thank you.

It's important, thank you.

Councilmember Pollard.

Thank you, Mayor, and sir, thank you for coming forward.

Yes, sir.

Um Camp Nightclub is in District J, J City, and uh we understand the issues that uh have been brought up and have been trying to work with the other offices as well.

Mayor, this is one of the issues that the District J Patrol would address.

We were providing overtime dollars to HPD officers to do specific quality of life crimes and violations.

So they wouldn't get pulled off their original beat, they wouldn't be working for the neighborhoods, they would be overtime dollars pay for from my office to be able to cite to be able to go out and investigate to be able to be equipped with the sound monitors and everything else.

Thank you.

We have been trying to put forth those dollars for the entire fiscal year.

Uh the mayor's office has not accepted those dollars.

Um this is a program that has been run for the past five years, and things were pretty smooth, but over the last year or so things have gotten worse.

And so that's why I've continued to ask for the district J patrol dollars to be accepted, and we'll continue to try to do that because you all do deserve to have more enforcement and patrol in the area.

Thank you very much.

Thank you, Councilmember.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Michael Baker.

Ferdinand DeRusso of Missouri City, Walter Rivera.

Summer Summer Bernhard of Baytown.

To be followed by Eric Cole Flat.

Good evening, Honorable Mayor and uh uh council members.

My name is Summer Bernhard.

I am a regional leader in Houston for an organization called HWPL.

It's an organization that stands for Heavenly Culture, World Peace, and Restoration of Light.

And being a witness to uh the city council today, I think we can all agree we need more of that.

Um our community members and the lawmakers and policymakers are looking for solutions to reduce violence in the Houston area, and we have a systematic, proven, peer-reviewed um approach to be able to give you a creative solution that your uh community members are asking for.

Um give you an example.

Uh HWPL principals uh ended a war actually in Philippine in the Philippines, Mindanao.

Um the principals uh convinced both sides to lay down their weapons, and peace has been has begun to evolve in that area.

And I believe that if HWPL principles can end a war, it can also reduce violence in our Houston City.

Um one thing that I love about uh HWPL is it honors the diversity, it I it honors the um influence that everyone has, and I want to be able to preserve that part of Houston.

And uh we just need a city council member to listen to believe in this to partner with us so that we can implement it into our city.

Yes, thank you, Nick.

Councilman McCarter.

I'm happy to talk to you about this.

Danelle right here uh can get your talk to you a little bit outside and we'll connect.

Awesome.

Thank you so much for what you do.

We do need peace.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you all for your time.

Eric Cole flat.

To be followed by Delphinia Delphinia Sparks.

Good evening.

Uh really briefly.

Uh I dropped my son off at Myeline Middle School, and um I noticed in the bus lane one of the buses had a uh this political, I don't know, statement on it has a Cuba flag with an upside-down American flag in the on the bus.

I I know as uh one of the freelance buses, but I just I just thought it was inappropriate, and I thought I'd just bring it to your attention.

That's that's it.

I I don't know what the law is regarding political statements on 10-year-old buses, uh buses for 10-year-olds, but um it just I I took it to the HST West office, and they're all veterans and they were appalled, and um I just thought I'd bring it to your attention.

Nick Delphina Sparks.

Julie Toby, Toby, Phoebe, to be followed by Brian Baker, Brian Baker.

Good evening.

My name's Julie Toby, and um they say a picture's worth a thousand words.

I live in the old six ward, and I've provided you with photos as to why the Kudos gas station at 1909 Washington Avenue should not receive a gas station permit.

I live at 19 Decatur Street, literally behind the home of the historic property.

This was designated by City Council July 23rd, 1997 as a Houston landmark.

As such, the city should protect it and other historic gnomes next to it from the gas station to be constructed on a small lot adjacent to theirs.

The features of these historic homes make them extremely vulnerable to fire and noise.

Most old six ward houses were built in the 1880s.

This is not simply a NIMBY opposition.

Old six ward neighbors have been working with Councilman Castillo and Councilmember Jaskin's offices in an effort to put forth an ordinance to restrict such new projects within a prescribed distance, such as in San Antonio.

There are real health and safety issues.

We understand that city council could use Prop A measure to quickly amend the fire code or the hazardous enterprise ordinance, or that the mayor or fire marshal would have a discretionary authority to refuse to permit placing fuel instrument structure so close to home residences.

Thank you.

It would be literally three feet from our my back fence, my neighbor's back fence where they have a five, four-year-old and a nine-year-old.

Council member Castillo.

Council Member Castillo.

Thank you, Mayor.

Julie, do you want to wrap up your your statement quickly?

Well, I I just I understand that we did a poll last summer.

Majority of the respondents were against this.

And we think that's with the TCEQ.

Um just, you know, this seems like it's just been going ahead, and we've been fighting it for ever since we heard about it a year ago.

Um these pictures show you it's not just like a gas station near us.

It is right.

Some of those pictures, I tried to show the conjunction of the fence behind the house next to me.

I'm the little yellow house.

I'm where the trees are.

That one tree in the lot's going.

Um it's just it's too small a lot for something like that.

And then the hazard of uh environmental health noise will have light, will have such an imposition.

I do uh appreciate you being here.

I share uh a lot of y'all's concerns, and I know a number of folks are also here to speak, so I'll be addressing uh y'all after the last person.

I think one other person is able to make it.

Brian wasn't able to make it.

Thank you so much.

Thank you again.

Thank you.

Next, Brian Baker.

No.

Joe Bailey Jr.

To be followed by Ali Khan.

Evening.

Evening, Council.

Uh my name is Joe Bailey Jr.

I live in the old six ward.

Uh a documentary film I directed, incendiary has been used in fire investigator training worldwide for over a decade.

Uh a gas station with tens of thousands of gallons of underground fuel storage is being permitted five feet from three occupied 1800s era homes, open crawl spaces, no fire stops, balloon frame construction, historic underground cisterns where vapors and runoff will collect.

76 percent of nearby households include children, elderly, disabled, or medically vulnerable residents.

I'm one of them, the survivor of aortic dissection, stroke, and multiple open heart surgeries.

Houston adopted a fire code written for cities with zoning.

The setback from a tank vent or fuel dispenser of the property line is the same, whether the neighbor is a parking lot or a family's home.

San Antonio requires 100 feet.

Houston requires nothing.

We have a model fire code amendment ready, backed by Federal Fire Safety Research and Houston's open adopted code.

We asked three council members and Mayor Woodmeyer to place it on the agenda.

Thank you very much.

Hold on a second.

Councilmember Castillo.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you for being here as well.

Um I do know that um a lot of the neighborhood has very valid concerns with this proposed uh development.

I share a lot of those concerns.

I've been working with y'all on a number of of those questions.

One of the things that has come from this is a proposal for an ordinance to help put some buffer in between how close these can be to homes to sensitive uh structures.

That proposal has received some um movement.

The health department is gathering data uh around benzene to determine where the issues may be, what uh any appropriate uh regulations could come from that, but that is the next step where things are today.

I want to make sure that y'all know that.

Also, uh TCEQ was mentioned the next super neighborhood meeting for Super Neighborhood 22.

Uh they will be discussing this.

One of the state reps is going to be there to talk about uh what they are pursuing at the state level uh with the Texas uh Commission of Environmental Quality, which does play a role in this as well.

Um so know that the work that y'all are doing is having an impact.

Um, specifically with this particular lot.

My office is going to continue to monitor uh to share the concerns that y'all have regarding fire codes as well with the office of the fire marshal and uh continue to support however I can.

Thank you, thank you, Councilmember Councilmember Alcorn.

Hi, Joe, good to see you.

And I've been talking um, Councilmember Castillo with with Joe Bailey as well.

And and I think a lot of us around this horseshoe have have dealt with you know too many gas stations and too many corners, and and I hope we can do something.

I I've gotten the same information that the health department is reviewing everything, collecting data, but much like um uh Vice Mayor Pro Tem after the Watson explosion, um, when we really did put in some restrictions on how far away um some of these hazardous materials can be, if we can you know possibly go down that road.

Um we do we do distance restrictions on a lot of on a lot of things in in Houston, and this could could you know hopefully be added to the list.

It's a big problem across our city.

Um the pictures are great.

The previous speaker, the this is an historic, wonderful neighborhood, and and it's it's really um just keeps getting better and better, and we don't want to set it back.

So thank you for coming.

Councilman, oh, thank you.

Councilman King.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um I moved to suspend the rules to move Anna Stone up.

There's only two speakers ahead of her, but she has two little ones that are getting pretty tired.

Motion made in the second all in favor say yes.

Those opposed a motion pass.

Anna Stone.

To be followed by Ali Khan.

Hi.

I am deeply disgusted by the mayor's decision to repeal and then amend this ordinance due to a threat of funding cuts.

That's not what someone does when they are protecting people.

They stand up in spite of threats.

Just last week on April 14th, the mayor recognized Holocaust Remembrance Day.

Oh, the irony of saying never again when we are at the beginning of the same predicament now.

And instead of standing up and protecting families and people from these atrocities, the mayor is looking to contribute to the new Holocaust by cooperating with ICE.

There have been other instances where people stood up in spite of threats, like during slavery when people were threatened up to death, they still stood up and helped slaves escape.

Funding cuts were threatened during interface integration, yet cities still stood up in integrated schools.

This happened during the Holocaust as well.

Yet people stood up and hid Jews then helped them escape.

We should be standing up for those who can't, not sending them to the poor conditions.

If you're not going to stand up now, when can people ever expect you to stand up?

The mayor keeps mentioning laws we need to follow it.

Yes, slavery used to be the law of this land, and he's proving that the city hasn't moved much past 1865.

This mayor should be standing up and saying I will not be bullied instead he rose over because of funding.

The mayor keeps saying to keep politics out.

Thank you.

Nick.

Ali Khan.

Ali Khan.

Steve Williams.

Neil Aquino.

All right, Leo.

To be followed by Marion Wright.

Hi, if if you're in public, someone may take your picture.

If someone's going to be removed for what seems to be a First Amendment activity, then the reason should be cited.

I took part in a protest earlier today as I do each Tuesday.

My picture, and I have been filmed today, that's the way it rolls.

You're in public.

Is there any attack from authoritarian white supremacist state and federal governments that the city of Houston will respond to with anything other than a rush to compliance?

Will we be governed by a mayor who cowers, a police union that bullies, and a police department that doesn't follow city ordinances?

We talk about trust in HPD.

It is the police union that has done significant damage to trust in HBD over the last two weeks.

Thank you.

Marion Wright.

To be followed by Elissa Quayar.

Hi, quick question.

I'm not an attorney.

Our Fourth Amendment trumps any city law, correct?

First Amendment, second amendment, third amendment, fourth amendment.

The Constitution trumps anything.

If anyone's Fourth Amendment rights are violated, does this ordinance change that?

Does it give anyone any rights different than that?

No.

If this is about protecting Fourth Amendment rights, is it?

Is it changing anything?

Is it?

Why are we going to chance losing something for an ordinance that really doesn't have any teeth?

There's nothing to this ordinance.

It's nothing more than people virtue signaling saying, look at what we're doing.

We're doing something.

Look at what we're doing.

What are y'all doing?

What does this amend Fourth Amendment rights?

If they're violated, everybody still has the same replica, the same thing they can do to fight it.

I don't understand.

Thank you, Nick.

Thank you.

Elisa Quayar.

To be followed by John Nix.

Jesus Christ.

The grant funds are not in the proposed budget.

Um that's something I have my personal ideas about that.

That in the future I think we should add some transparency around that in the budget.

Um, but we know that the departments that get the most federal grants for their operational budgets are the housing department and the health department.

Let me just take the obvious that significant reductions in federal grants would negatively impact the programs we operate.

The residents of the city of Houston you serve and our employees.

Um it would be it would be drastic, and it would be it would be a serious issue for the city, and um I certainly hope that it does not come to that.

If this is a crisis situation, it is because you have set it up that way.

You made a butt on a bad friendship, and this is the result.

And when you act like you are the adult in the room and you are cleaning up their mess, that is playing politics.

Houston police officers, especially those freshly graduated ones, the new ones.

I say to you, consider that the system as it is is harmful to you as well.

When maybe the money is good, but the job is tough because your time has expired.

Thank you.

Next, John Nix.

To be followed by Joseph Panzarello.

Howdy, mayor and city council.

My name is John Nix, and I see KS.

I'm a resident of Spring Branch and Amy Peck's district.

I'm urging, like most of them here as a no vote.

We need to tell the scoreyard bully, aka Greg Abbott, and Donald Trump.

No, you cannot have Houston.

We need this ordinance.

We need HPD to enforce this ordinance, and let the people be a sanctuary city.

It is ridiculous that even we have to even think to bow down to the screwyard bully abbot on this stuff.

I sh I, as a native Texan, should not have to carry my birth certificate with me or my passport that shows that I am a native Texan and lawfully allowed to be here.

It's ridiculous.

It's like, and no one isn't even talking how this is hurting hurting people with special needs, like autism or people in wheelchairs.

What if they deport someone that's autistic and it becomes nonverbal?

Or is in a wheelchair and they can't move out.

That's my concerns, and I urge you to vote no and just fight back.

Fight back everything you can.

Of course, I'm round time had more to say.

Thank you.

Next Joseph Panzarello.

To be followed by Dale Story.

Howdy.

Good evening, everybody.

Good afternoon, I suppose.

Um there are five words on that wall that I want to remind City Council of today.

The people are the city.

The decisions you make in this horseshoe have a material impact on Houstonians' lives.

You were elected to fight for us, especially when bullies try to undermine our voice and run our city from afar.

I support the ordinance put forward by Councilmember Salinas, Cayman and Pollard.

I think that HBD's time should be spent serving Houstonians, not pushing political agendas.

I believe that the most diverse city in the nation should nurture its immigrant community, and I know that when push comes to shove, our leadership should stand strong for Houstonians in opposition towards bigotry, hate, and political overreach.

Because the people are the city.

Thank you so much.

Thank you, Nick.

Dale story.

Isaiah Lopez.

Lady Ortego.

To be followed by Teodoro Aguilouz.

Good afternoon.

My name is Letia Ortega, and I'm a Houstonian and organizer with Mi Familia Nacion.

We are here because our communities are watching what you do next.

Families are already afraid to go to work, take their kids to school, or call for help because they don't want a routine stop to turn into an ice encounter.

And we are about to enter hurricane season.

We know what that means in Houston.

It means families need to be able to call for help, evacuate safely, and trust that the systems meant to protect them will actually do so.

Repealing this ordinance would deepen fear at the exact moment our communities are most vulnerable.

You all already made the right decision.

You passed this ordinance to protect people from being held, to end prolonged stops, and to bring transparency to HPD's actions.

That is about protecting our constitutional rights and safety.

What is happening now is political pressure.

If you repeal this ordinance, you are sending a message that Houston will back down when our communities' rights are on the line.

Voters are paying attention.

Thank you.

Today we face a serious threat.

Governor Abbott is attempting to punish our city by taking funds away that belong to Houston.

That is why we come before you respectfully but firmly to ask, do not give up.

Defendamos a Nestra Gente.

Muchas gracias.

Organizations and communities are ready to stand with you.

We are prepared to walk alongside you in this process.

Raise our voices and defend Houston together.

We ask you to use all available legal tools to remain strong and not give into intimidation.

Let us defend Houston.

Let us defend our people.

Thank you.

Next Mark War.

To be followed by Joseph Ballard of Umble.

Thank you for this opportunity, speak.

Uh my name is Markham from uh District A.

What the governor is doing is threatening threatening to withhold our funds is not leadership, it's coercion.

It's an attempt to force you to abandon your vote and abandon your values.

And I'm sure you want to say, I'm sure you want to say I told you so.

But we knew the kinds of consequences that could happen.

Putting our safety at risk because we fight for our rights is violence.

And we're used to violence.

Every time we call for peace, the state calls for violence.

Every time we take a single inch of progress, we see violence.

So you must stand up and you must fight against injustice.

And let us be clear about the stakes.

When people are afraid that calling the police could lead to their family being put at risk, they don't call.

Victims stay silent, witnesses disappear, trust collapses, and when trust collapses, public safety collapses with it.

So their ultimate goal is not safety from the foreigner.

They are trying to divide strong working class communities.

That is not politics, that is reality.

The policies you supported are not extreme.

They are bare minimum to uphold constitutional rights.

So this is the moment that defines leadership.

Not when it's easy, but when not when there's no pressure, but right now when standing firm actually costs something.

Thank you.

Joseph Ballard.

Joseph Ballard.

I don't see Joseph Omari.

You know, we black Americans are the slaves that made plenty of money once they paid us by labor, created contribution to society.

Marcus Garvey even raised money by selling stock to buy ship as a part of the back Africa movement.

When it comes to art and culture, don't abandon your country, culture identity.

I know you may have seen my company buy a knee hip hop design fashion concept on the street, but I got a minute, girlfriend.

The Black America neighborhood sports also passed and entertainment financial ad report of one million once a three million dollar Austin Orthodox company is just as tax company as sold Joe Cuberson crack for ten dollar piece.

You just leave it on the table.

Well, new white pivot and black kids must understand about older white and older black copper America, they're not going to give you that product design invention that has that could possibly earn millions and billions of dollars in revenue volume.

They don't want that meat out of contract, and they don't want that million dollar trunk card.

And they're going to want that million dollar contract, brother, no matter what.

Especially to have uh million dollar Hollywood superstar athletic potential.

Thank you.

We recess for nine in the morning.

I'm excited to be here today to share with you the state of our city.

We had a successful state of the city address a couple of months ago, where I described the city as strong and getting stronger.

Nothing has changed.

In fact, since then, we've gotten stronger.

We are getting great reviews as recently as yesterday from admirals and generals that conducted and partnered with us on Fleet Week.

They said they'd never been to a city that was more friendly and resourceful.

But it's not just yesterday with the Admirals and Generals, but national publications are printing out that we're leading the nation in manufacturing jobs.

That we're second only to Seattle and economic development.

And also mentioning that Seattle completely closed down during COVID, so they're building back.

So I could go on the recognition we're getting.

Certainly, Houstonians feel our energy and the direction we're going.

And really want us to continue to conduct city business.

But on the greatness and the improvements we're making, we can't do it alone.

How many times have we talked about collaboration?

It's the key.

It's how we play catch up, it's how we address neglect.

All the different issues that we hear about when citizens come before us.

The point is, I want to give credit where credit's due.

Taking over management of some city parks, helping us with the homeless, road repairs.

The county collaborating with us is making a huge difference, and I think each and every one of them.

But they come with conditions.

As Commissioner Brionis and I have agreed on what the signage would look like.

Something that is insignificant, quite frankly.

But what type of crosswalk will we have in areas where we both represent the same people?

Thank you to the county for their collaboration.

I understand the compromises that go with collaboration and the sharing of funds.

We would not beat the great city we are in moving forward without funding from Harris County.

The state.

The State requires that you follow their riders in their grant language.

Having sat on city, state finance for years, very little budget items go forward without strings attached, conditions, and signed agreements.

I can give you examples where they also in the past withheld money from Houston.

Harvey recovery funding, because land commissioner Bush insisted on certain provisions and accountability and follow-up.

They withdrew the Harvey Recovery Funding.

Just last session, the state funded with special items $267 million.

Let me say that again.

In the budget, special items for Houston was $267 million.

$215 million for water treatment, plant repairs, $17 million from parks, infrastructure, roads, $20 million, and public safety, $15 million.

Some large items like the water treatment was $100 million.

Then the last week of the session, I got a hold of the chairman of finance from Houston, Chair Husman, and said, Joan, we got to have some police cars.

It is unheard of for Austin to fund municipal police cars.

So she put 10 million in the budget for 200 police cars with directions and guarantees that that's what it will be used for.

We would not be the strong city going forward without our partnership with strings attached from the City of Houston.

And now the federal government.

But they control the funding.

And I can't not thank my team enough and members around this horseshoe for understanding that we're fixing Houston.

The polls show that people are pleased, and I don't govern by polls, but people feel it.

They see it, the pavement of a thousand miles of city streets this year, partly with state and county funding.

Public safety, our fire and police cadet classes have never been larger.

We've sworn in 800 police cadets in the last two years.

Large numbers of Houston fire, total of 2400 police officers now.

Largest ever, 5,400 police officers, largest ever.

And it's required to have a safe city over time.

Pop-up protests have to be secured.

Got a critical credible gun scare.

It involves HBD having the numbers and resources that they need.

Home repairs, recovery funding for generators.

I could go on and on.

That's the system which exists where no level of government does things alone.

Our park funding, our public safety, infrastructure, jobs, organized labors never understood or appreciated the jobs that we're creating as much as they do now.

From the state, we got two billion dollars for the George Brown expansion.

Two billion.

People are signing up for conventions for years to come.

Last week we got 100 million from the state to completely redo Toyota Stadium.

All have conditions.

All are making a difference.

So today we have to decide do we want to remain strong or not?

And I'm here to submit to the public, my colleagues.

I know the direction that we're going to go.

We're going to remain strong and deal with a very serious issue, one that I said over a year ago that I was sorry that we even had to deal with it.

But we've been consistent.

We followed the law.

We protected residents' Fourth Amendment rights and reprotected the city funding.

I was told by some of the proponents that it the state just won't challenge you.

Councilman Salinas, I begged you in my office to please consider the worst case scenario, which is before us today.

That's what people said before the state moved in on HISD.

I know Abbott, I voted against him more than any living person.

And quite frankly, y'all played right into his hands.

You voted for it.

I understand.

And let's talk about why I did.

It's again the legislative process.

The first proposed aid was absolutely on its face in violation of Senate Bill 4, which I voted against.

The revision was much better, and that's the legislative process.

I didn't get everything I wanted in the revision, and it certainly got the attention of the authorities in Austin, particularly when some of the proponents leave out of here and say it's ticket and release.

That triggered where we are today.

And that was never the discussion around this horseshoe, and it was never in consideration as we did a revised version.

But it got their attention.

No more, thanks to our discussion.

They're in discussion today with Austin, and you'll be seeing them adopt the language that I'm proposing today.

That follows the law, reinforces the Fourth Amendment, and protects our city funding.

It's an interesting comparison.

We have in Jeopardy, in fact, not Jeopardy, we lost it last Wednesday, $114 million for public safety.

Austin has the potential of losing $2.5 million, which again points to the collaboration between this administration in Houston and the State of Texas.

Thank God that we can pick up the phone and talk to the Governor's office and say, let's keep talking, because that has not been the model in Houston and Austin for years.

Let's keep talking.

And the police cars.

Austin is asking for the return of those funds, and we'll get no additional funding from this grant.

Some would say, let's go to court.

Any objective lawyer knows that if you got a favorable ruling in Harris County, the State Supreme Court would overrill it the same day.

Or the Fifth Circuit, if you follow their rulings.

So that's not an alternative because time is costing us dollars.

It's costing us public safety.

I am still getting calls from major city mayors.

Whitmire, how'd you do it?

How'd you maintain the calm when our national news was showing the tragedies of Minneapolis, LA, Chicago, New Orleans, Memphis?

Of course that created fright, anxiety in all of us.

I did it as I explained to large city mayors by not politicizing it.

Staying off the administration's radar.

We have had a success.

And I understand the heartache.

I have personal relationships with undocumented families.

Close relationships.

I'm in the community.

I listen to the witnesses.

And it's painful for me to sit here and have to spend three hours being misrepresented because I have the credentials to talk about this issue.

Having spent 50 years in Austin and watch the demographic changes of our state.

Yes, this is an emotional discussion, but you should have been in the legislature in 74 when I was a freshman state rep and bilingual education was introduced in the legislature.

Think about it.

74, it was a different world.

Bilingual education.

We take things for granted now that were emotional battlefields.

Then the farm workers.

Most of y'all don't know.

I spent five years of my childhood, 30 miles from Waco in a very rural setting.

Came back to Houston to finish high school.

I understand the hardships of farm workers.

I found out that they were spraying the fields in the valley with chemicals, pesticides, and the farm workers would go in there immediately and take the chemicals and poisons back home and they'd pick up their children.

Look at the prison reforms in the 80s.

Look at them in the 90s when I became the chair.

I did my very, very best to allow undocumented prisoners for low-level nonviolent offenses to go back to Mexico and their country of origin.

To this day I'm disappointed that I could not pass that.

Because they were being used.

Low-level nonviolent, undocumented prisoners were being used to run the prisons.

Couldn't ever prove it.

But experience and common sense can lead the way.

Came up with that concept and idea.

Voted against Senate Bill 4, long before I ever thought we'd be having this discussion.

So I have the credentials to understand, represent, and defend the undocumented community.

The key was not politicizing it.

Oh, you can call ICE the F-word or whatever you want.

They just send more resources here.

We have been successful defending families across Houston because ICE had very limited resources here.

We saw some violations by some officers.

We're not perfect.

So the chief and I had a press conference to roll out a more accountable system.

A sergeant has to be there.

You won't transport anybody.

Twenty-two people were had warrants that HPD saw on their screens required by law to call ICE, just like they'd be required to call Montgomery County or Travis County or any jurisdiction.

Of the 22 that had a warrant, ICE wanted only two.

Some would argue two too many.

I understand that position.

One was a very violent individual.

The other had been deported four times.

Folks.

Then it became a high profile issue.

And I respect everyone's right to bring their position around this horseshoe.

But I'm going to close because we need to go to work.

And let everyone can hear my voice.

We have no alternative for Houston to survive, prepare for FIFA, patrol these neighborhoods, deal with sound ordinances, emancipation, Almeida, Washington, Durham across this great city.

We are doing a good job, but we've got to have today a restoration of the 114 million, and then get ready for the next session.

Not only for resources and money, but we need to get ready to defend the rights of all of our residents.

Because I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Austin is listening.

Austin is watching.

So let's all work together, respect each other.

I don't know why the discussion has to get so personal.

It's not in my world.

We get more to get done together than we do individually.

With that said, I would like to bring the item.

Number 11 out of order.

Second.

Motion made and second.

All in favor say yes.

Those opposed any.

Motion passes.

Councilman Cayman.

Thank you, Mayor.

Um, you know, usually during your mayor's report, we have an opportunity to speak ahead of an item, so I went into queue because there's other issues related to public safety today as well.

Um I'd like to address that and then I'll move on to this item.

But the I was extremely disturbed to see remarks made by an officer less than 48 hours ago that do not represent the values of HPD or the City of Houston, and I want to thank the unions for giving out putting out a statement, but I was extremely dismayed.

My understanding is HPD nor the city issued an official statement.

And in terms of timing of all of this, I think we can all condemn unequivocally how disturbing and disgusting and unacceptable those remarks were, but we couldn't issue a statement within 24 hours.

Within less than 24 hours, though, we received language on this amendment and are expected to vote on something today that the people have not had time to review, that we have not had time to review, and you talk about collaboration.

You talk about how this isn't personal to you, but you also say veiled remarks about blaming one council member or another, when as a body, we overwhelmingly voted in favor of something which wasn't within our legal right to do.

Harvey, in 2017, the governor refused to provide $50 million of the state's rainy day funding for Houston.

None of us were at this horseshoe yet.

But city leadership at the time fought hard and won for that money, ensuring that there would not be a temporary property tax hike that we would have had to implement to fill that gap if we didn't get those f dollars.

The city fought for it and won.

And then we fast forward to October of last year, and the governor issues an illegitimate order for cities to remove paint from crosswalks in city rights of ways, or we'd lose funding.

We rolled over without even providing an alternative to show the communities that we are fighting for them.

And I asked then if we roll over now to a bully.

What will he come for next?

And now we have the Abbott Amendment, which is a point blank repeal of the ordinance we passed last week.

And once again, the governor is trying to bully our city into submission, withholding public safety funding that he did.

He did that, not us.

What we passed was within the bounds of SB4, was it within the bounds of contractual agreements, and upholds the Constitution of the United States.

And instead of questioning the grounds for it, we're getting misleading information, we're getting threats about overtime being cut.

We have a layout that you provided us of other state funding.

Parks, water, rail crossings.

Are you saying that those are at issue now?

Because we have asked over and over again, we received a list of the general grants that were on the list to be withheld.

That included my understanding from the limited information that we have is for about 114 million dollars.

They're state pass throughs.

Out of that 100, 65 million are for FIFA.

The remaining 10 to 14 include things like equipment and fleet vehicles, but we have asked over and over again for the contractual parameters of those grants, and we get no specific information on what grants would leave to overtime cuts.

We've already spent $50 million over our budget in public safety overtime this fiscal year.

But overtime wasn't cut then.

We have an over 120 million dollar budget deficit, and yet we're not even talking about our fiduciary duty to defend the city in court.

We have a fiduciary duty to defend the city in court.

So there's a lot of scare tactics happening, and there's not enough facts being presented.

We were given something less than a day before council is supposed to vote on something in the middle of public session when the public did not get to review or comment on it either.

Yes, ma'am.

City attorney, can you please explain why there is a no tag order on this item because the governor gave until today only two uh for the possibility of resuming funding if the ordinance were amended?

And so if that deadline comes and goes, it will be rendered moot, which is the language of the tag rule.

So I'm open to I'm I'm going to be issuing a tag and we can have a debate on that.

Um I'm happy to release that tag at the moment for further discussion, and I defer to the chair as to how we would like to proceed on that.

You can alter it up.

And I'll be glad to rule.

I'm I will be offering up a tag.

Are you going to or you're doing it?

I'm doing a tag.

Okay.

I rule it out order.

Pursuant to Robert's rules of order, Section 24, I move to appeal the decision of the chair, and I need a second.

Motion been made in segment or rule to your pardon?