鈥檚 office has threatened to cut state funding to three of Texas鈥� largest cities if they fail to change policies that the governor says limit police cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
Around $200 million in public safety funding is at risk for Houston, Dallas and Austin, which all have rules directing police officers not to prolong the detention of individuals during encounters like traffic stops for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement agents.
Some cities have also been under legal scrutiny from Attorney General Ken Paxton鈥檚 office, which said their policies violate Senate Bill 4, a state law that bans local governments from adopting measures that 鈥渕aterially limit鈥� immigration enforcement. Some local leaders have pushed back against that charge, and the ACLU of Texas has said policies like Houston鈥檚 support 鈥渓ongstanding protections under the Fourth Amendment.鈥�
Houston faces the biggest potential loss of state funding. On Monday, Abbott鈥檚 office told the state鈥檚 largest city that the state will withdraw around $110 million in public safety grants, if it does not repeal its ordinance.
Abbott鈥檚 office followed that on Thursday with similar letters to Austin 鈥� warning the city that around $2.5 million in similar funding could be at risk 鈥� and Dallas, which stands to lose more than $32 million in grants, as well as more than $55 million in World Cup public safety funding.
鈥淐ities in Texas are expected to make the streets safer, not more deadly,鈥� Andrew Mahaleris, Abbott鈥檚 spokesperson, said in a statement.
Mahaleris didn鈥檛 immediately respond to the Texas Tribune鈥檚 questions about whether the governor鈥檚 office has sent similar letters to any other local governments.
Austin Mayor Kirk Watson pushed back against Abbott鈥檚 threat in saying that the city鈥檚 policy is consistent with SB 4 and only provides clarity for officers when they interact with immigration officers.
鈥淭he City of Austin has made great progress on public safety 鈥� but our APD officers do not have the capacity 鈥� and should not be asked 鈥� to do the jobs of other entities,鈥� Watson said. 鈥淭here is great irony that the state would try to punish the City for providing services that keep Austinites safe by threatening grants that keep Austin safe.鈥�
The that Paxton opened an investigation into the Austin Police Department鈥檚 immigration policy, which it revised after the January sparked community backlash. The , adopted in March, bans officers from arresting people solely based on a civil immigration warrant as well as 鈥渦nreasonably prolonging a detention鈥� in order to contact ICE.
Similarly, the Dallas Police Department鈥檚 say officers 鈥渕ay not prolong the detention of an individual in order to further investigate the individual鈥檚 immigration status or to hold them for federal authorities.鈥� Local police are also prohibited from stopping any person 鈥渇or the sole purpose of determining immigration status.鈥�
It鈥檚 not immediately clear whether Dallas is also being investigated by Paxton鈥檚 office, which didn鈥檛 immediately respond to a request for comment.
In response to Abbott鈥檚 letter, Dallas spokesperson Rick Ericson said: 鈥淲e remain committed to complying with all applicable state and federal laws while continuing to prioritize public safety for the residents of Dallas, and ensuring our officers have the resources and support necessary to effectively serve the community.鈥�
Meanwhile, Houston Mayor John Whitmire 鈥� who voted for the ordinance targeted by Abbott 鈥� called the governor鈥檚 threat a 鈥渃risis situation鈥� and immediately pushed for a special city council meeting to reconsider the measure. But while Whitmire from the governor鈥檚 office, Houston was also slapped with a lawsuit from Paxton鈥檚 office Thursday over the same issue.
鈥淚 think it鈥檚 unfortunate that so much time and resources are being spent on an issue that should not be partisan,鈥� Whitmire said in a statement in response to the lawsuit. 鈥淚t interferes with our responsibility to keep Houston safe and protect all residents.鈥�
Councilmember Alejandra Salinas, who spearheaded Houston鈥檚 ordinance, called on city leaders to 鈥渧igorously defend鈥� the measure, which eliminates the rule directing local law enforcement to wait 30 minutes for federal agents to arrive at the scene if they encounter people with administrative immigration warrants during situations like traffic stops. The ordinance also requires Houston police to deliver quarterly reports on its cooperation with ICE.
Prior to Paxton鈥檚 lawsuit, she had already been calling on the city to challenge Abbott鈥檚 threat in court.
鈥淚t鈥檚 no longer a question about whether the City should go to court. We鈥檙e already there,鈥� Salinas said. 鈥淭he Mayor and City Council must vigorously defend the law we voted for and that the City Attorney deemed legal. I stand ready to work with my colleagues to defend our laws and protect Houstonians鈥� constitutional rights.鈥�
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