Gov. Abbott says Houston will have to pay back $110M if immigration ordinance isn’t repealed

Gov. Abbott lays out next steps for Houston if funding cut over immigration ordinance

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott laid out what will happen to the City of Houston's public safety funds if they don't repeal an ordinance dictating how Houston police interact with ICE.

HOUSTON - Texas Gov. Greg Abbott says the City of Houston will have to pay back around $110 million in public safety funds and still find a way to fully fund the police if they do not repeal an ordinance dictating how police interact with immigration authorities.

The backstory:

Houston City Council passed an ordinance on April 8 specifying that officers cannot hold someone longer or extend a stop to wait for ICE, altering a policy that required officers to give immigration authorities 30 minutes to respond to the scene.

On Monday, the city announced that the state was threatening to pull $110 million in public safety grants because the ordinance violates the agreements between the state and the City of Houston.

Mayor John Whitmire called it a "crisis situation" and said that the loss of funding poses challenges to the police department, fire department and public safety services across the city.

Greg Abbott lays out the ramifications

What they're saying:

On Thursday, Abbott said, "The City of Houston signed an agreement to get money from the State of Texas that requires Houston to comply with the Department of Homeland Security programs about detaining illegal immigrants. After already getting $110 million from the state under that agreement, Houston is now trying to renege on their obligations."

Abbott says failure to comply with the agreement will mean Houston has to return the $110 million in grants.

Until they repay the money, Abbott says the state comptroller will withhold sales tax money that would otherwise go to the City of Houston.

"It’s not as if they're going to say, ‘Well, we may or may not get around to writing a check.’ Know this: The way the law works, the City of Houston gets a rebate of all the sales taxes collected in the City of Houston on a monthly basis from the comptroller. What happens by law, the comptroller will withhold the sales tax revenue that otherwise would go to the City of Houston and will be retained by the State of Texas until the State of Texas is fully paid the $110 million that is owed by Houston to the state," Abbott said.

In addition, Abbott says the city will still have to find a way to fully fund the police.

"Importantly, the requirement to return the money does not mean defunding the police. I signed a law to prevent cities from defunding the police. Under that law, Houston will have to find the funds elsewhere to fully fund the police," Abbott said.

City council meeting to consider repealing ordinance

What's next:

A special Houston City Council meeting will be held on Wednesday to consider repealing the ordinance.

The state has given the city until that date to repeal the ordinance before grants are pulled back.

In a statement on Thursday, Whitmire said, "After discussions with the Governor’s office, our deadline to respond to the state’s freeze on public safety grant funding has been moved from Monday, April 20, to Wednesday, April 22. Therefore, the Special Called Houston City Council meeting has been postponed until Wednesday, April 22, to give my administration additional time to continue productive discussions with the Governor’s office, City Council members, law enforcement, and the community. This strikes a balance to protect our people, essential services, and our finances.

"As I said earlier, this is a crisis. We have already lost state grant funding, which affects the Houston Police and Fire Departments, public safety services across our city, preparations for the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and the Department of Homeland Security. Our public safety departments rely on a combination of local, state, and federal resources to operate effectively. We are making significant progress through constructive conversations."