The Austin Police Department just released new rules on how they respond to ICE warrants. Here's what we know.

The new general orders come months after a 911 call led to the deportation of an Austin woman and her child when APD discovered an ICE administrative warrant. Outrage from the community followed, including at a town hall last month where APD said it needed to update their policies on how they handle ICE warrants.

The orders state that “APD officers are not authorized to make an arrest or detention based solely on an ICE Administrative Warrant,” but are allowed to contact ICE with some oversight.

According to the policy, in the case where an officer encounters someone with an ICE administrative warrant and there is “no separate arrestable criminal charge,” the officer has to contact their supervisor and explain the circumstances of the call and the warrant.

The officer or the supervisor then can, but don’t have to, contact ICE about the warrant. However, the policy also says that officers cannot “unreasonably prolong a detention to contact ICE.”

If ICE requests the officer detain the person until ICE agents can come arrest the individual, the officer – or supervisor – must contact a Watch Lieutenant who will consider several factors to determine if an officer remains on the scene.

According to the orders, factors include considering if APD has enough resources at the time for the officer to remain on the scene, if the person involved is a victim or witness of a crime, if the request would cause “unreasonable” overtime costs, and the urgency of the request.

After this evaluation, the order says the Watch Lieutenant will contact and brief the Duty Commander, who will make the final decision.

The orders also state that when a person is detained for an administrative warrant and ICE is contacted, officers have to document their actions and the final decisions in a report.

But the rules also outline when officers can’t detain someone with an administrative warrant, which includes a place of worship, unless there are extreme circumstances that put public safety at risk.

So, there’s now a lot more guidance in the orders for these types of warrants, which, according to a memo written by Chief Lisa Davis, weren’t addressed before.

“APD recognizes the sensitivity of this issue, not only within our city but across the nation,” Davis wrote in the memo. “These policies were updated to provide clarity to our officers, ensure compliance with state law, and maintain officer discretion guided by supervisory oversight and operational consideration.”

Additionally, she wrote that APD will undergo training on updates on the general orders. They’ve also launched a website to help residents learn more about their rights as well as APD’s new policy.

Let us know if you have any questions on the new policy or immigration.

Follow us on social media!
Follow Austin PBS on Facebook: www.facebook.com/AustinPBS
Follow Austin PBS on X/Twitter: twitter.com/austinpbs
Follow Austin PBS on Instagram: www.instagram.com/austinpbs
Follow Austin PBS on Tiktok: www.tiktok.com/@austinpbs