Trump's Trials - Blue cities in red states debate over how to respond to efforts to resist ICE

Episode Date: March 12, 2026

While cities in blue states like Minnesota and California resist ICE enforcement, some Democrat-led cities in red states, like Austin, Texas, are in a heated debate over how to respond.Support NPR and hear every episode of Trump's Terms sponsor-free with NPR+. Sign up at plus.npr.org.To manage podcast ad preferences, review the links below:See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

You're listening to Trump's terms. I'm Scott Detrow. President Trump promised every single American that he would make America safe again. Every single day in the Oval Office, the president looks at us and says, why haven't we done more? This will be an entirely different country in a short period of time. Every episode, we bring you one story from NPR's recent coverage of the 47th president. With a focus on ways his administration is pushing the boundaries of presidential power. Here's the latest from NPR. I'm Steven Skeep. In many Republican-led states, police officers are required to cooperate with federal immigration agents.

And that leaves liberal cities in those conservative states debating how to respond when they don't want to spend time on immigration enforcement. Moschelle from member station KUT gives us a view from Austin, Texas. City council members opened up a recent public forum here with a line they repeat, often. In Austin, undocumented immigrants should be able to call the police without fear of being deported. Here's Chitovela, Austin Mayor Pro Tem. We are committed and making sure that we are keeping our immigrant community as safe as we possibly can. But in Texas, there are few options when it comes to stopping police from reporting people to ICE. In one recent case, a mother and her young daughter were reported after the mom called local police to report a disturbance.

Stopping that kind of thing was what this meeting with Austin Police Chief Lisa Davis was about. With that said, let me go ahead and turn it over to Chief Davis. Thank you for being here. This is amazing to see this show out. In Texas, state police are empowered to arrest suspected unauthorized immigrants. Many counties partner with ICE to get grants and funding. Those agreements will become mandatory for all counties by the end of the year. And Davis said Texas cities cannot prevent local officers from calling ICE if they see fit.

There is a role of law that I have to follow as the chief of police here in the state of Texas. But what we can do is... It was a tense evening. On one side, local officials explaining that breaking state law could lead to cuts to funding or them getting removed from office. On the other side, many in the audience calling for resistance no matter the cost. Robert Salter is a criminal defense lawyer who was one of the most vocal that night. There is nothing that prevents this police chief, these city council members, from refusing to cooperate with the state.

Heated public debates like this have also erupted in San Antonio, Dallas, and Houston. Democratic cities in Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida are also seeing locals push back against red state laws that mandate ICE police partnerships. Kristenetter is director of the Texas Immigration Law Council. She says far more people are detained in states that have these policies. It's not visible. It doesn't present the same way as it does in Minneapolis or Chicago or Los Angeles. And so most people, again, would have no idea that this is happening every day all around us in a very quiet way. Quiet, that is, until people start shouting.

At that public meeting in Austin, police chief Lisa Davis, announced plans to change city policy. Officers can still contact ICE, but the new rules will give police higher-ups a say in whether they can hold people until ICE arrives to arrest them. And I can tell you, the priority is not waiting for ICE to respond on a civil detainer. Officials think it's a way to thread the needle between local priorities and state law. But after the event, immigrant advocate Karaminsuieta said it won't help people who fear deportation feel any better about calling the police for help. To gain confidence, you have to earn confidence. You have to earn it.

And nothing they're doing is giving us confidence. She said, for NPR News, I'm Mose Bouchel in Austin. Before we wrap up a reminder, you can find more coverage of the Trump administration on the NPR Politics Podcast, where you can hear NPR's political reporters break down the day's biggest political news. new episodes every weekday afternoon. And thanks, as always, to our NPR Plus supporters who hear every episode of the show without sponsor messages. You can learn more at plus.npr.org. I'm Scott Detrow. Thanks for listening to Trump's terms from NPR.