A heated confrontation erupted during a Houston City Council meeting on Wednesday morning after remarks by Police Chief Noe Diaz about a case involving a mother separated from her autistic son.
The exchange appeared to be tied to the case of 15-year-old Emmanuel Gonzalez Garcia, a Houston teen with autism who was separated from his mother after being taken into federal custody. Emmanuel disappeared on Oct. 4 while with his mother, who sells fruit on Houston’s northwest side. Police later found him at a McDonald’s near Airline Drive and, after he reportedly said he had no family, contacted federal agencies that placed him in immigration custody.
Advocates say Emmanuel functions cognitively at the level of a 4- or 5-year-old and that he should have never been separated from his mother. He was last known to be hospitalized at Texas Children’s Hospital, where he recently underwent emergency surgery for appendicitis. His mother has been allowed limited contact with him since the separation. She now needs a sponsor to pick him up because she’s not a U.S. citizen.
Ahead of the meeting, Mayor John Whitmire asked for Chief Diaz to come down to city council and provide council members with information into the case. The mayor called into question how the story was portrayed over the past few days and said the version of the story he heard would upset anyone.
“We have such a tendency to want to believe individuals and their cause,” Whitmire said. “But I knew better. It’s so frustrating to sit here when I have the data, even some of you have the information, and know that someone for political purposes, in building a following, stands there and tells us something that they know is not true. It inflames a community, violates the unity that I stand for. It increases the paranoia, the anxiety of our immigrant community.”
Chief Diaz said the missing person detectives responded to the scene at around 10:30 and assumed the entire responsibility of the investigation.
“They met the reportee at the scene, searched the area and placed flyers at close to a dozen nearby locations. This research also included available databases for us that included locating and reviewing several previous HPD reports involving Emanuel,” Diaz said. “This included one runaway report in 2024 and two missing persons report in April and May of this year. All of the mother stated in this incident that Emanuel was autistic.”
Diaz said his detectives reviewed the prior incidents and identified Emanuel as not being autistic or had any medical or cognitive issues. He stated that Emanuel was able to articulate himself well and clearly and was able the function as a normal person.
“Furthermore the mother could not produce any medical records or documentation of a treating physician to confirm his diagnosis of special need,” he said.
Council woman Abbie Kamin cautioned Diaz and everyone involved about making a determination on whether or not Emanuel does or does not have a disability.
“I just want to make sure that if we’re presenting public information, we’re not saying, no, this young person does not have a disability,” Kamin said. “We don’t have access to that information.”
As Mayor John Whitmire was announcing a 20-minute recess, Cesar Espinosa, the executive director of FIEL, a Houston-based immigrant advocacy organization, stood up and began shouting at Chief Diaz, demanding to know why the chief wouldn’t meet with him.
“Why do you lie? Why do you lie? Chief Diaz we’ve been trying to meet with you,” Espinosa shouted. “The child is autistic! Proper care that he deserves, do not lie, do not lie.”
Moments later, the audio feed from the meeting was cut off
City officials have not commented further on the outburst or whether it was connected to the ongoing case.