TEXAS \u2014 The office of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is investigating Houston and Austin after the cities changed their policies regarding how law enforcement should interact with federal immigration agents.<\/p>\n
Last week, the City of Houston passed an ordinance requiring police not to prolong field encounters \u2014 such as traffic stops \u2014 when someone has an administrative warrant from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Before, Houston Police Department officers had to wait 30 minutes for ICE to arrive on scene in those cases.<\/p>\n
The Austin Police Department also updated its procedure for working with ICE last month after a controversial encounter involving a 5-year-old U.S. citizen being detained. Under the new policy, APD officers are no longer required to contact ICE when someone has an administrative warrant from the agency and no other arrestable criminal charge.<\/p>\n
According to an April 10 letter to Houston Mayor John Whitmire, Paxton\u2019s office is launching an investigation into whether Houston\u2019s ordinance violates Senate Bill 4, which enforces immigration-related arrests.<\/p>\n
Gov. Greg Abbott said in a separate letter last week that the state will discontinue Houston’s $110 million in grants in response to the policy change.<\/p>\n
In a statement<\/a> posted to Facebook on Monday, Whitmire stressed the importance of state funding and said the potential loss will impact public safety services across the city, including preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the Department of Homeland Security. Houston’s NRG Stadium is set to host seven World Cup matches.<\/p>\n \u201cThis is a crisis situation\u2026 we have significant work ahead, and I’m considering all options,\u201d Whitmire said.<\/p>\n As for Austin, Paxton\u2019s office will investigate the city over APD\u2019s policy change, according to records obtained by CBS News<\/a>.<\/p>\n