“Elections have consequences.”
Words to live and die in American politics. Famously uttered by former President Barack Obama in 2009, versions of this aphorism have since become cutting political shorthand for the sentiment that “we won, you lost, deal with it.”
After the Democrats’ generational victory in the 2026 midterm elections, the combined threat, taunt and promise are already being brandished with enthusiasm. On Friday, Houston Mayor John Whitmire signed an executive action ordering the Houston Police Department to end cooperative policies with Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Earlier this year, Texas Republicans passed a controversial law, SB 4, that allows state law enforcement to engage in immigration enforcement activities. The same law prohibits cities and local jurisdictions from implementing “sanctuary” policies protecting undocumented migrant residents from immigration enforcement. Today, with Democrats controlling every state seat in Texas as well as the statehouse, the fear of retaliation from state government is no longer an obstacle.
“Elections matter,” Whitmire said at a news conference Friday. “I was in the Senate when SB 4 was approved. I voted against it … I voted no because we were concerned about the fear, the anxiety that it would create.”
“ICE will only be contacted if someone commits a jailable offense,” he explained, adding that he believed the policy change could begin to rebuild “trust” and “reduce fear and anxiety, not just in some of our communities but throughout Houston.”
Before the election, a series of violent clashes involving ICE agents reignited tensions within the state. In Houston, a federal immigration agent was charged with aggravated assault after allegedly running over Miguel Parra Hernandez — a Mexican construction worker — while chasing him in his SUV during an ICE raid.
In September, officers fatally shot Wilber Rafael Garces Perez, a Venezuelan, during a traffic stop, sparking protests around Austin.
Immigrant detention centers in Texas have become hotbeds for allegations of abuse, neglect and civil rights violations. This year alone, six migrants have died while being held in Texas ICE detention centers. It’s no wonder that the state’s Hispanics have completely abandoned Republicans this election cycle, and as the new Democratic-led government takes power, Whitmire’s executive order appears to be the first step in a major transformation within the state.
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