TEXAS — Gov. Greg Abbott is continuing to ramp up his fight against Austin and Houston after the cities changed their policies on how police interact with federal immigration officials.
Earlier this month, the City of Houston passed an ordinance to minimize its police cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Soon after, Abbott sent a letter to Houston officials threatening to discontinue $110 million in Public Safety Office (PSO) grants over the policy change.
On Thursday, Abbott sent a letter to Austin Mayor Kirk Watson similarly threatening to terminate its PSO grants totalling $2.5 million. If the grants are pulled, the city will be required to repay the state within 30 days.
Last month, the Austin Police Department updated its General Orders to say that officers are ”not authorized to make an arrest or detention based solely on an ICE Administrative Warrant.” The new policy also requires officers to talk to a supervisor before contacting ICE.
The change came after city officials faced public backlash over the deportation of a mother and child after a 911 call in Austin. The officers who responded to the call alerted ICE after seeing an administrative warrant in a federal database. An administrative warrant is a formal document issued by a federal agency, such as the Department of Homeland Security, authorizing federal law enforcement to make an arrest, and it is not signed by a judge.
“A city’s failure to comply with its contract agreement with the state to assist in the enforcement of immigration laws makes the state less safe. It can have deadly consequences,” Abbott’s press secretary, Andrew Mahaleris, said in a statement. “Cities in Texas are expected to make the streets safer, not more deadly.”
Houston Mayor John Whitmire called a special City Council meeting after receiving the letter from Abbott and called it a “crisis situation.” That meeting was scheduled for Monday, April 20, but it has since been postponed to Wednesday, April 22, after the governor’s office extended the city’s deadline to respond.
Whitmire said in a statement that the postponement will give the city “additional time to continue productive discussions with the Governor’s office, City Council members, law enforcement, and the community.”
“This strikes a balance to protect our people, essential services, and our finances,” Whitmire said. “As I said earlier, this is a crisis. We have already lost state grant funding, which affects the Houston Police and Fire Departments, public safety services across our city, preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the Department of Homeland Security. Our public safety departments rely on a combination of local, state, and federal resources to operate effectively. We are making significant progress through constructive conversations.”
Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is also investigating both Houston and Austin over their policy changes and whether they violate Senate Bill 4, which was passed in 2017 to ban sanctuary cities in the state and prohibits local officials from adopting policies that stop officers from cooperating with immigration officials.
Later on Thursday afternoon, Paxton filed a lawsuit against Houston city officials, including Whitmire, saying the city’s ordinance “blantantly violates” SB 4.
“I will not allow any local official to push sanctuary policies that make our communities less safe,” said Paxton in a news release. “Houston has no authority to ignore the Constitution and the laws duly enacted by the Legislature. I’m calling on Houston to immediately repeal this ordinance.”