Overview
- Abbott’s public safety office, in a Monday letter, gave Mayor John Whitmire until April 20 to confirm Houston will halt and repeal the new policy or forfeit $110 million in state safety grants.
- The ordinance, passed 12–5 last week, ends HPD’s 30‑minute wait for ICE and states that civil ICE warrants do not justify longer stops or detention beyond the original police purpose.
- The governor’s letter cites a 2025 grant certification requiring full cooperation with Homeland Security requests and warns Houston could be billed to repay $110 million within 30 days if funding is cut.
- Whitmire called the situation a crisis and said losing the money would strain police and fire services along with security planning for the 2026 FIFA World Cup in Houston.
- Ordinance sponsors Alejandra Salinas, Abbie Kamin, and Edward Pollard defended the measure as lawful and described the state’s threat as bullying, while Attorney General Ken Paxton opened an investigation into possible state‑law violations.