Erick Lopez accuses Houston police of detaining him for more than two hours after a traffic stop while waiting for immigration agents’ arrival. He was deported to Honduras ten days later.
Erick Lopez, a 29-year-old Honduran, filed a lawsuit against the City of Houston, claiming that officers from the Houston Police Department (HPD) illegally prolonged a traffic stop to hand him over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
The complaint states that Lopez was pulled over on June 17, 2026 for a traffic violation and was held for more than two hours while officers awaited ICE’s arrival. Ten days later, on June 27, he was deported to Honduras.
The case is in its early stage. Lopez’s allegations have not yet been resolved by a court, and the City of Houston will have an opportunity to respond within the judicial process.
The traffic stop would have lasted more than two hours
Lopez’s lawsuit contends that HPD continued to detain him after addressing the original reason for the stop. The central issue is whether local police could extend the encounter while awaiting federal authorities to take custody.
Randall Kallinen, Lopez’s attorney, stated that his client had no criminal record and worked installing floors and tiles. He also noted that Lopez provided financial support to his girlfriend and her two children.
The lawsuit ties the detention to an administrative immigration order. This type of order belongs to civil immigration proceedings and does not equate to a criminal arrest warrant issued by a judge.
The office of Mayor John Whitmire did not respond immediately to requests for comment on the case. At the time of this publication, the City had not issued a public, background response to the allegations.
HPD policy does not set a maximum waiting time
The current HPD policy requires that a sergeant respond to the scene when a query in the police database shows an ICE administrative order.
If there are no local criminal charges, officers must verify the order with ICE’s support center. When the federal agency requests sending an officer, a sergeant may authorize that the person remain detained for a period deemed “reasonable.”
HPD’s current guidance on ICE administrative orders does not define how many minutes constitute a reasonable period. It also prohibits police from transporting a person when the only record on file is an immigration administrative order, except for a near-term transfer for safety reasons, such as removing a vehicle from a highway.
That procedure took effect on April 23, nearly two months before the encounter described by Lopez.
Houston eliminated the 30-minute limit in April
HPD had set, in March, a maximum of 30 minutes to resolve encounters related to ICE administrative orders. The City Council subsequently approved an ordinance that barred extending a detention merely to facilitate the arrival of immigration agents.
On April 22, the City Council approved an ordinance that removed the 30-minute limit. The next day, HPD adopted the rule that allows waiting a “reasonable” period.
The new lawsuit places that policy back under judicial review by challenging the length of time a local authority may detain a person during an intervention initiated for another reason.
HPD handed 19 people to ICE during the quarter
Between April and June 2026, Houston police found 103 people with civil immigration records in the database used during their interventions.
HPD released 59 of them and handed 19 over to ICE agents. Another 14 were jailed on new local charges, nine records could not be confirmed, and two people were transported to a hospital.
The average detention time was 39 minutes. Lopez’s claimed detention of more than two hours would have far exceeded that average.
Between April and June 2026, HPD handed over 19 people to ICE and released 59 others. The average detention time across the 103 encounters with immigration records was 39 minutes.
The outcome of the lawsuit could influence the debate over the constitutional limits of cooperation between Houston police and federal immigration authorities. Until there is a response from the City or a judicial decision, the claims about Lopez’s detention remain allegations in an ongoing lawsuit.
