With a new law on the horizon known as Senate Bill 4 , which would allow state law enforcement to engage in immigration enforcement, Houston’s immigrant communities are questioning how they should interact with police.
Although the law is currently halted by a temporary injunction , immigrant and civil rights advocates and law enforcement encourage all Houstonians to be prepared to interact with law enforcement.
In 2023, over 900,000 traffic stops were conducted across the 75 police agencies in Harris County, according to a 2024 racial profiling report by the Texas Commission on Law Enforcement. In Harris County, white people made up 34 percent of overall stops, Hispanic/Latinos followed with 31 percent, and Black people made up 30 percent. The data does not track immigration status of people stopped.
Here are things to remember if a law enforcement officer conducts a traffic stop.
Standard traffic stop procedure and your rights
During a traffic stop, an officer will ask for your identification and proof of insurance, said Doug Griffith, president of the Houston Police Officers’ Union.
You have the right to remain silent and refuse a search of your vehicle if there is no warrant or probable cause. You are also allowed to ask if you’re free to leave during police stops.
Most traffic enforcement units are in full uniform, Griffith said. You can ask for the person’s badge number if you question whether it’s a real officer. Officers must provide their badge number when asked.
Additionally, you can call 911 and ask if an officer is on-site at the location. The operator can confirm via GPS.
Showing your ID
Identification can include a Texas driver’s license, foreign identifications such as a passport or another state driver’s license or identification. If you don’t have any of these and you are a Harris County resident, you can apply for an enhanced library card, although advocates caution that law enforcement has not adopted an official policy recognizing this as a valid form of ID.
You can even laminate your documents to help them stay clean and preserved, said Salena Braye-Bulls, operations assistant with Pure Justice, an organization focused on criminal justice reform in the Houston region. Digital copies can also be helpful to have on hand.
For foreign identifications like Mexican IDs, Griffith says that police cannot use that to determine someone’s immigration status, but they can use them to check for outstanding warrants and issue citations.
Braye-Bulls recommends you have your identification somewhere that is immediately accessible when you’re sitting in the driver’s seat. That can include the glove compartment to the console, but really wherever is within arm’s reach, she said.
It helps to let the officer know if you plan to reach somewhere for your documents, Griffith said. This can avoid a reaction from an officer who could mistake your moves as threatening.
During the traffic stop
If you get stopped and feel threatened or intimidated, remember that it’s your right to request an attorney or speak to a different officer, Braye-Bulls said.
It’s important for you to stay calm, no matter your ethnic background or nationality, but especially if you have an accent or darker skin, said Charelle Lett, a legal fellow with the ACLU of Texas.
“There’s a lot of stereotypes that come with being fiery and aggressive, so staying calm, not arguing, is going to be really helpful to keep the situation at a calm level,” she said.
Tips for immigrants
Being in the country without legal status doesn’t justify harsher punishment at a traffic stop, said Cesar Espinosa, executive director of immigrant rights organization FIEL Houston.
“Oftentimes, people are so ingrained with the fact that they are here illegally or undocumented that they feel that they don’t have the same rights as other folks,” Espinosa said.
Having your car registration, inspection and insurance up to date if you’re an immigrant is especially important, Espinosa said.
It can be helpful to show valid immigration paperwork to officers if you have them, said Lett.
“Do not lie about your status or provide fake documents, because that will get you in more trouble,” she said.
However, you don’t need to provide more information than necessary or say anything incriminating, such as mentioning your immigration status.
You are not required to answer questions regarding your immigration status, such as:
- Where were you born?
- Are you a citizen?
- How did you enter the country?
- What is your social security number?
This doesn’t mean that officers won’t ask these questions, said Katharina Dechert, Houston Policy and Advocacy Manager for the Tahirih Justice Center. So you should verbally invoke your fifth amendment right.
Passengers are not required to answer these questions either, she added. They also don’t need to show their ID.
Sometimes officers encourage people they stop to admit to crimes or wrongdoing to get more lenient treatment in the future, Espinosa said. But he cautions against following this advice unless a lawyer is present.
“They have the right to remain silent,” Espinosa said. “Whether or not there’s an SB4, people don’t have to incriminate themselves.”
Language barriers
Translation hasn’t been that much of an issue for HPD with technology advancements like Google Translate that allow officers to ask enough information for a report, Griffith said. Having a Spanish-speaking officer is still the priority, Griffith said, but when that’s not possible, officers informally use the translation app to bridge language barriers.
Espinosa encourages you to ask for a translator if you need it, rather than to pretend to understand out of embarrassment.
“Most people don’t ask for translators, and then they may be admitting to things that they shouldn’t, or they don’t understand questions. And so it becomes an issue,” Espinosa said.
If a situation arises
You can ask for a supervisor to also come to the scene, Griffith said.
“No reason to argue and cause drama on the side of the road, when it’s a danger to everybody,” he said. “You want to get that over as quickly as you can and get out of traffic.”
In the aftermath, if you believe your rights were violated, you can file a complaint , Griffith said. Everything is recorded on body cameras nowadays.
When to talk to your children about police interactions
With the prevalence of police violence shown on social media, Lett recommends you discuss police interactions with children sooner rather than later, especially for children who are Black or of color, Braye-Bulls said.
Above all, teach them tactics to remain calm and explain how police interactions can and should proceed normally. Emphasize that police stops don’t always become dangerous, Braye-Bulls said.
“Since it’s something that’s so prevalent in our society, [it] is definitely something that people should talk about with their kids before allowing them to drive,” she said.
For immigrant families, Espinosa recommends sharing important information, such as bank logins and putting extra car and house keys where everyone can access them in an emergency. That way, all family members will have access to key resources in case someone is arrested or detained.
While some of these tips are unique to immigrants, Espinosa encourages all Houston residents to educate themselves.
“At the end of the day whether you’re undocumented or documented it’s important to know these rights,” Espinosa said.
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