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Dallas police's response to Abbott's immigration order
The department says it has revised an immigration policy, hours ahead of a deadline imposed by Governor Abbott. Last week, the governor threatened to pull millions in public safety funding from the city, saying a years-old policy ran afoul of a contract that the city signed. In response, the city says its new policy clarifies that Dallas police are not prohibited from inquiring about immigration status or cooperating with federal authorities. The revised policy does say officers will not stop a person, for the sole purpose of determining immigration status
DALLAS - After a threat from Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last week to remove and withhold safety funding, the City of Dallas says they are amending their police policies to better accommodate increased immigration enforcement.
Dallas changes ICE policy
The latest:
The memo released by City Manager Kimberly Tolbert on Thursday says Dallas remains "committed to maintaining eligibility for grant funding and strong coordination with state partners." In that vein, the city has amended several portions of the general order Abbott found to be conflicting with ICE cooperation agreements.
Gov. Abbott threatens to yank millions in funding if Dallas doesn't change ICE policy
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says the City of Dallas stands to lose nearly $90 million in funding if it does not change their ICE cooperation policy.
What's changed:
The city now says their officers are not prohibited from asking about a suspect's immigration status, cooperating with ICE agents as necessary or sharing immigration status info with federal officials.
To better comply with their agreement to cooperate with ICE in return for safety grants, DPD General Order 315.04 has been revised to reflect those clarifications. Read the full memo below:
Dallas Police chief weighs in
Dallas Police Chief Daniel C. Comeaux released the following statement Thursday:
What they're saying:
"Our officers will follow the law, and our updated policy will affirm that we will cooperate with federal authorities when required. Moreover, our mission has not changed and DPD exists to protect the safety of everyone in Dallas, and we will not stop individuals only to determine their immigration status. Victims and witnesses should continue to feel safe to report crime.
"Year over year, Dallas has seen a reduction in crime. That progress is the result of focused enforcement and our strong partnerships with local, state, and federal agencies to hold violent offenders accountable. That work will continue. I have been clear from day one that we are not immigration enforcement and that has not changed: our role is public safety. However, we have the responsibility to operate fully within the law and ensure compliance with our legal requirements.
"We remain committed to just and constitutional policing and building strong partnerships at every level to deliver the highest level of safety to the residents we serve daily."
Dallas police to review immigration policies after Abbott funding threat
In response to the governor's letter threatening to pull safety funding over ICE cooperation policies, the city said it is committed to complying with all applicable state and federal laws.
Abbott's ICE order threatens funding
The backstory:
Abbott threatened last week to pull millions of dollars in public safety and World Cup funding from the City of Dallas. The governor said Dallas was violating a contract by not working with the Department of Homeland Security on immigration enforcement.
The public safety office took issue with Dallas Police General Order 315.04, an order concerning immigration arrests.
"Officers may not prolong the detention of an individual in order to further investigate the individual’s immigration status or to hold them for federal authorities. Rather, at the expiration of the time reasonably required to carry out the purposes of the initial stop, the officer is required to release the individual, regardless of whether the officer suspects or even knows that the individual is undocumented or the individual has answered dishonestly or refuses to answer questions about immigration status," it reads.
As a result, the state threatened to pull more than $30 million dollars in grant money, and withhold millions more in security funding ahead of the World Cup.
The Dallas Police Department previously said it received $22 million in grant money for World Cup safety.
Other Texas cities face defunding
Along with Dallas, Houston and Austin were named in letters from the governor's office last week with similar threats to pull safety grants.
Houston stood to lose over $110 million, while Austin had more than $2.5 million threatened.
The Source: Information in this article comes from City of Dallas officials and previous FOX Local reporting.