Honduran Man Sues Houston Over Two-Hour Traffic-Stop Detention for ICE Transfer

According to the complaint, Erick Ruiz Lopez, a 29-year-old Honduran man, was pulled over for a traffic violation on June 17. Although he had no criminal warrants or record, the filing alleges that Houston Police Department (HPD) officers kept him in custody for more than two hours until U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents arrived. Lopez was deported to Honduras on June 27. The lawsuit contends that HPD extended the stop solely to allow ICE to take him into custody, violating his constitutional rights.

KPRC - Click2houstonKTRK - ABC13 - Houston

The proposed class action accuses the City of Houston and unnamed HPD officers of a policy or practice that unlawfully prolongs traffic stops for individuals with civil immigration warrants—warrants that do not authorize local police to detain someone. Plaintiffs seek unspecified monetary damages and a court order prohibiting the alleged practice, asking the court to grant class-action status to others who may have experienced similar detentions.

KPRC - Click2houstonKTRK - ABC13 - Houston

Earlier in 2026, the Houston City Council approved an ordinance limiting police cooperation with federal immigration authorities. Weeks later, the council reversed the measure after Texas Governor Greg Abbott threatened to withhold $114 million in state grant funding. Since the reversal, HPD policy permits officers to wait a “reasonable” amount of time for ICE agents when they encounter individuals with civil immigration warrants, though the policy provides no specific time limit. As of the filing, the City of Houston had not responded to the lawsuit.

KPRC - Click2houstonKTRK - ABC13 - Houston

Civil-rights attorney Randall Kallinen explained that a national crime-index computer system now lists roughly 700,000 non-criminal immigration warrants, allowing officers to see them even though they are not criminal matters. He argued that many people are being held for extended periods because of these administrative warrants. Constitutional-law expert Seth Chandler noted that police may normally hold a driver only for the duration of the traffic stop itself, and questioned whether an immigration warrant—issued without a traditional judge—should be treated like a criminal allegation.

KTRK - ABC13 - HoustonKPRC - Click2houston

• “The question here is whether an immigration warrant, which is not issued by a traditional judge, should be treated the same as an allegation that you were involved in a bank robbery or another violation police observed while conducting the traffic stop,” — Seth Chandler, constitutional law expert

KTRK - ABC13 - Houston