Residents urge Houston council to reject DOJ 'Model Cities' grant over ICE concerns

Dozens of residents and immigrant‑rights advocates urged the Houston City Council on Sept. 30 to refuse the Department of Justice’s Model Cities Initiative (MCI), saying the program’s eligibility and cooperative‑agreement terms would require federal involvement that could lead to deeper cooperation with ICE.

"Model Cities does not simply provide money for public safety with no strings attached," said Juan Rubio of Workers' Defense Action Fund, urging council members to weigh the grant’s conditions. Ronaldo Salgado, whose father was killed during an ICE operation, told the council accepting MCI funds could result in "handing over the keys to the city" and put immigrant families at risk.

Advocates cited DOJ application language—publicized in webinars and documents—that they said requires substantial DOJ involvement in project planning and execution and conditions tied to law‑enforcement priorities. Jennifer Canales Pelaez, a senior policy attorney with the Immigrant Legal Resource Center, said the ‘‘cooperative agreement’’ structure means Houston would not retain final control over funded initiatives.

Council members did not take a vote on MCI during the meeting, but several members heard public comments urging them to decline the program if it returns to the agenda. Speakers asked council offices and the mayor to pledge publicly not to apply, or to remove any proposal to apply from future agendas.

The public comment period included multiple calls to prioritize responses that do not increase policing, and repeated requests that the city pursue alternatives for homelessness and public‑safety investments that would not tie local agencies to federal immigration‑enforcement priorities. The council did not announce a timeline for action on the matter by the end of the session.