![\"State](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ICE-DPD-Anchia-Austin-Wood-e1776879301528.png\")
\n\t\t\t\t\t\tState Rep. Raphael Anchia represents a heavily Latino district in West Dallas.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
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\n\t\t\t\t\t\tState Rep. Raphael Anchia represents a heavily Latino district in West Dallas.\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n
Austin Wood<\/p>\n
Dallas leaders gathered Wednesday morning to push back on Texas Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s threat to withhold public safety<\/a> funding over city policies governing police cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.<\/p>\n On April 16, Abbott\u2019s office sent letters to officials in Dallas and Austin saying the cities may not receive millions in state and federal funding if they do not repeal policies governing local police departments\u2019 role in immigration enforcement<\/a>. Houston received a similar letter earlier in the week, in which Abbott\u2019s office threatened to withhold $110 million in public safety funding if a recent city council-approved ordinance restricting officers\u2019 cooperation with federal immigration agents is not repealed. <\/p>\n Dallas Police Chief Daniel Comeaux has said DPD officers will not conduct immigration investigations and told the Community Police Oversight Board in October that he had refused a $25 million partnership with ICE to detain undocumented Dallasites. City council members affirmed that decision at a contentious November meeting<\/a> that hosted over 70 public speakers.<\/p>\n One of the press conference\u2019s first speakers, Democratic state Rep. Rafael Anchia, opened his remarks with a message for Abbott.<\/p>\n \u201cFirst thing I want to say is something directly to Gov. Greg Abbott: stop playing politics with the public safety of the people of Dallas,\u201d Anchia said. \u201cAlso, stop threatening to defund our police, and that is really the main message here today.\u201d<\/p>\n The letter to Dallas threatens $32.1 million in state funding and also said the city may \u201cimperil\u201d over $50 million in federal public safety grants for the World Cup this summer if it does not change its policies.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe governor is characterizing DPD\u2019s local policy as interference with immigration enforcement, but that characterization is false. General Order 315.04 is a commonsense measure that provides clear guidance on stops, detentions and arrests,\u201d Democratic state Rep. Venton Jones said. \u201cIt does not violate state law, it does not prohibit cooperation with federal authorities. What it does do is that it protects constitutional rights, it builds community trust and it reduces liability.\u201d<\/p>\n The order states that officers cannot question individuals<\/a> about their immigration status, prolong detention to investigate status or hold a detainee for federal enforcement officers. Officers are also not required to share information with federal authorities under the order, but may do so at departmental discretion.<\/p>\n Houston\u2019s city council recently passed an ordinance overriding the local police department\u2019s policy requiring officers to wait 30 minutes at a scene for federal agents if they detain someone with an administrative immigration warrant. Houston Mayor John Whitmire said last week that officials extended the deadline to repeal the ordinance<\/a>, but Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has since filed a lawsuit against the city for \u201cadopting sanctuary city policies,\u201d according to a release.<\/a><\/p>\n While Comeaux turned down the ICE partnership in October, agents can request a local police presence to secure perimeters during arrests and raids. The police chief refused calls from the community oversight board to provide data on DPD\u2019s interactions with ICE in February.<\/p>\n Dallas City Council member Adam Bazaldua, who opposed the ICE partnership in November, said that withholding funding will hurt DPD\u2019s relationships with communities around the city.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen local law enforcement is perceived as an arm of the federal immigration enforcement, trust erodes, and when trust erodes, public safety suffers,\u201d Bazaldua said. \u201cThat is not theoretical. That is real, and it affects every neighborhood in our city. We already comply with all state and federal laws.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we must not do is blur the line between local policing and federal immigration enforcement. Turning our officers into immigration agents undermines the very relationships that we depend on to keep our community safe. If residents are afraid that calling the police could put their families at risk and their own lives at danger, they will not call 911.\u201d<\/p>\n Council member Laura Cadena, who represents West Dallas, said that diverting police priorities toward immigration enforcement will put residents at risk.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat does this message send to the world? Dallas residents and visitors to Dallas must remain safe,\u201d Cadena said. \u201cOur officers work tirelessly to improve response times to emergency calls for service. And any shift to the priorities that pull officers away from these calls puts our communities at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n According to the latest publicly available data from the department<\/a>, officers responded to Priority 2 calls (robberies, criminal assaults, major accidents) with an average wait time of approximately 53 minutes in the first four months of 2026.<\/p>\n The Dallas Police Association (DPA) has also voiced opposition to Abbott\u2019s threats to withhold funding. In a statement, DPA President Sean Pease said that withholding funding places further \u201cstrain on a department already facing significant staffing challenges.\u201d The department currently has 3,352 sworn officers, according to an update provided to council members earlier this month, falling well short of the department\u2019s Prop. U-mandated goal <\/a>of 4,000 sworn officers.<\/p>\n![\"Adam](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/04\/ICE-DPD-Bazaldua-Austin-Wood.png\")
Council member Adam Bazaldua was one of the majority of council members who voted against an ICE partnership in November. <\/p>\n