State Rep. Venton Jones, D-Dallas, speaks during a press conference in response to Gov. Greg Abbott’s threat to Dallas to revoke public safety funding he says the city may lose because of its rules around collaborating with ICE, at Dallas City Council, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Immigrant advocates and local elected officials warned Wednesday that Gov. Greg Abbott’s threat to withhold tens of millions of dollars from Dallas over a police policy on immigration enforcement would make the city less safe and could undermine preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
Speaking outside City Council chambers before Wednesday’s meeting, the groups cast the Republican governor’s push to pull $32.1 million in public safety funding as politically motivated and part of a broader effort to pressure cities into aligning local policing more closely with federal immigration enforcement.
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“We’re standing here today as a united coalition to send a clear message that public safety funding should never be used as a political weapon,” said state Rep. Venton Jones, who chairs the Dallas-area Democratic delegation.
The news conference came a day before the deadline Abbott’s office gave the city to respond. Allison Hudson, a Dallas police spokesperson, said the city would reply before then.
Reached for comment on Wednesday, Andrew Mahaleris, an Abbott spokesperson, referred back to a prior statement issued to media outlets last week.
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“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,” the statement reads. “It can have deadly consequences. Cities in Texas are expected to make the streets safer, not more deadly.”
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Attendees listen during a press conference in response to Gov. Greg Abbott’s threat to Dallas to revoke public safety funding he says the city may lose because of its rules around collaborating with ICE, at Dallas City Council, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Dallas police’s general orders — the department’s internal rules governing officer conduct — say officers are not to serve as front-line immigration enforcers during routine policing. The policy has been in place since at least October 2017, when that section was last reported to be revised.
Police Chief Daniel Comeaux said Friday that the funding at risk is “critical” and that the city is reviewing the department’s internal immigration policies, which he said may see minor changes to comply.
The funding dispute — which Abbott has also raised with Austin and Houston over their police department policies — is the latest flashpoint in Dallas’ long-running debate over immigration enforcement, as pressure from the state intensifies.
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Last fall, a fight at City Hall over whether Dallas police should join the federal 287(g) program — which would have allowed local officers to carry out some immigration enforcement functions — drew sharp pushback. City Council members voted unanimously to shelve the idea.
Milagros Garcia, an organizer with the North Texas Immigration Coalition, said city leaders were right to reject the program and had chosen “trust over fear, community safety over surveillance and people over politics.”
Now, she continued, Abbott and Attorney General Ken Paxton — whose office is also suing Houston over a police immigration policy recently approved by its City Council — are trying to override that decision.
Dallas city council member Adam Bazaldua speaks during a press conference in response to Gov. Greg Abbott’s threat to Dallas to revoke public safety funding he says the city may lose because of its rules around collaborating with ICE, at Dallas City Council, on Wednesday, April 22, 2026.
Shafkat Anowar/The Dallas Morning News
Other speakers at the news conference included state Rep. Rafael Anchía, D-Dallas, and City Council members Laura Cadena and Adam Bazaldua.
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Abbott’s office also said in its letter that Dallas police policies could “imperil” the city’s ability to receive $51.5 million in federal funding to help cover public safety costs tied to the World Cup.
The money is being distributed through the Federal Emergency Management Agency, which, as of Wednesday, had not responded to requests for comment about the status of the funding.