HOUSTON – Houston Mayor John Whitmire says he is considering all options after receiving a letter from the State of Texas threatening to pull $110 million in state public safety grants from the city over its recently passed ordinance limiting when the Houston Police Department can call U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
In a letter from the Office of Governor Greg Abbott delivered Monday to Mayor Whitmire, the State says the new ordinance violates an April 15, 2025 certification between the City of Houston and the Public Safety Office of the Governor (PSO) which states the city would, “participate fully… in all aspects of the programs and procedures utilized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security‚” to notify DHS of all information requested by DHS regarding undocumented immigrants in HPD’s custody and detains such undocumented immigrants in accordance with requests by DHS.
The letter also says the certification also states the city and HPD “do not have, and will continue not to have any policy, procedure, or agreement that in any way limits or impedes” HPD’s receipt or DHS’s issuance of detainer requests.
The letter continues by saying it is a notification that the new ordinance is a breach of the certification and “imperils all grant agreements between the City and PSO for Fiscal Year 2026.” It asks the mayor to respond by April 20 to “confirm that the City will not enforce, and will act to repeal, the ordinance. Failure to do so may result in PSO exercising its sole discretion terminate all such grants.”
What is the ordinance?
The revised immigration ordinance focused on drawing a clearer line between the responsibilities of the Houston Police Department and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, particularly during routine traffic stops and investigations.
Under the new ordinance, officers would only be allowed to detain someone for as long as reasonably necessary to complete the original purpose of a stop or investigation.
The ordinance makes clear that an ICE administrative warrant alone, a civil document that does not allege a criminal offense, would not justify a stop, arrest, or continued detention by HPD.
If no crime is suspected, the individual must be released.
Previously, when officers encountered an immigration warrant, they were required to call a supervisor to the scene.
That supervisor then verified the warrant before contacting ICE, whose agents were then given a limited window to respond.
The updated ordinance now requires HPD to provide quarterly reports to city council members detailing its interactions with ICE.
Mayor Whitmire responds
In response to the letter from the Office of the Governor as well as another letter from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, Whitmire released a statement.
“Last week, I voted for the revised “Prop A” Ordinance on Immigration believing it affirmed our original policy: Houston enforces state and local law-not federal law, and we are not ICE. However, Governor Abbott disagrees.
Today, the state notified the City of Houston that it is withdrawing $110 million in public safety grants because the ordinance violates the grants agreements between the state and the City of Houston.
This action follows a letter from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who has started an open investigation into whether the ordinance violates Senate Bill 4 (SB4). I repeatedly warned the ordinance sponsors, Council Members Salinas, Kamin, and Pollard about the legal and financial risks associated with this approach.
This is a crisis situation. 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. Our public safety departments rely on a combination of local, state, and federal resources to operate effectively.
We have significant work ahead and I’m considering all options.”
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