Houston’s mayor signs an executive order to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities

HOUSTON (NBC, KYMA) - Houston's mayor Friday directed police to limit cooperation with federal immigration authorities, signing an order that he called a result of Democrats reclaiming power in Texas for the first time in decades.

Under the mayor's directive, Houston police should contact ICE only if the person it stops is arrested on a charge that is subject to jailing or if ICE issues an administrative warrant, meaning that the person is wanted by immigration officials.

Houston has been a recurring scene of protests to trump's immigration crackdown in the wake of one ice officer fatally shooting a Mexican homebuilder and another striking a man with a car.

Last week, a grand jury in Houston indicted the ICE officer who was inside the vehicle on charges of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.

The shift in the nation's fourth-largest city is one of the first actions to restrict U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement operations in response to Democrats' rout in Tuesday's midterm elections.