Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has threatened to withdraw $110 million in state public safety grants from Houston after the City Council approved an ordinance limiting how long police can detain someone based solely on an ICE administrative warrant. Abbott has also warned Dallas and Austin of potential grant losses over similar policies.
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott said Houston could lose $110 million in state public safety grants after the Houston City Council voted on April 8 to adopt an ordinance restricting how city police interact with federal immigration authorities.
The ordinance limits detention tied to immigration enforcement by barring officers from prolonging a stop solely to wait for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to take custody of someone based on an ICE administrative warrant — including a prior practice that allowed officers to wait up to 30 minutes.
In an April 21 interview with The Daily Wire, Abbott said the ordinance violates the terms of state grant agreements that, he said, require recipients to cooperate with ICE. Abbott said jurisdictions that do not comply would forfeit the funds and be required to repay money previously received.
The Daily Wire report also said Abbott’s administration has threatened to withhold $90 million in state funds from Dallas and $2.5 million from Austin over what it described as similar limits on police cooperation with ICE.
Separately, Abbott warned that Houston could face additional financial pressure beyond the grants. In the same Daily Wire interview, he said the state comptroller could withhold about $40 million a month in sales-tax rebate payments to the city if Houston does not reverse course.
