Governor Threatens To Withhold Millions in State Funds From Houston Over Its New ICE Policy

Houston’s Democratic mayor is being accused of caving to the Republican governor after pushing the city council to reverse a new policy that weakens requirements for police officers to help ICE agents.Under the new policy, police officers are no longer required to detain people or lengthen traffic stops for up to 30 minutes to give time for ICE officers to respond on immigration warrants.Governor Greg Abbott has threatened to pull $110 million in public safety grants from the city over the policy. Mr. Abbott sent Mayor John Whitmire a letter on Monday saying that the city was in violation of agreements to fully support Department of Homeland Security operations as part of grant requirements.Mr. Abbott’s letter gives an April 20 deadline for the city to repeal the ordinance or confirm it will not enforce it. Mr. Whitmire hastily scheduled a Friday city council meeting for members to consider repealing the policy, calling the funding threat a “crisis situation” for the city.“The potential loss of state funding poses real challenges for the Houston Police and Fire Departments and will impact public safety services across our city, the 2026 FIFA World Cup preparations and the Homeland Security Department,” Mr. Whitmire said in a statement in response to the letter. “I repeatedly warned the ordinance sponsors, Council Members Salinas, Kamin, and Pollard about the legal and financial risks associated with this approach,” Mr. Whitmire said. He added that he voted for the ordinance because Houston enforces state and local law and not federal law. “We are not ICE,” Mr. Whitmire said.Houston has a long history of battling state officials over policy disagreements. The city council is non-partisan but the majority of voters in the city are Democrats.Councilman Edward Pollard blasted the mayor for flip-flopping on the issue.“He staked his credibility on relationships in Austin and being the leader who could hold the line when pressure came,” Mr. Pollard said in a release posted on his Facebook page. “The first real test arrived, and he caved.”Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton’s office has started its own investigation into whether Houston’s policy violates state law. Authorities are requesting data used to justify the new policy, along with data on interaction between Houston police and ICE over the past two years.Houston is dealing with a record budget deficit of $174 million and any loss of state funding would exacerbate the situation.“We have significant work ahead and I’m considering all options,” Mr. Whitmire said.

Governor Threatens To Withhold Millions in State Funds From Houston Over Its New ICE Policy

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