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Public safety funding fight underway
A new disagreement between the City of Houston and the Governor of Texas could come with a hefty price tag for the city. FOX 26's Jillian Hartmann explains why.
HOUSTON - A special Houston City Council meeting will be held on Friday to consider repealing a recently passed ordinance that dictates how local police interact with federal immigration authorities.
The special meeting comes after the State of Texas threatened to pull $110 million in public safety grants from the city in reaction to Houston's new immigration rules.
Houston's immigration policy
The backstory:
Houston City Council passed an ordinance on April 8 clarifying how local police should interact with federal immigration authorities.
Notably, the policy now specifies 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.
The ordinance also requires regular public reporting on how often HPD asks about immigration status or contacts federal officials.
Texas threatens funding
On Monday, the city announced that they learned the state is threatening to pull $110 million in public safety grants.
According to a statement from Houston Mayor John Whitmire, they were notified the money is being withdrawn because the ordinance violates the grants agreements between the state and the City of Houston.
The action follows a letter sent by Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton, who started an open investigation into whether the ordinance violates Senate Bill 4.
What they're saying:
According to Governor Greg Abbott's letter to Houston Mayor John Whitmire, "This letter serves to notify you that this new ordinance, Section 34-41 of the Houston Code of Ordinances, is in breach of your April 15, 2025, certification and imperils all grant agreements between the City and PSO (Public Safety Office) for Fiscal Year 2026. Please respond by April 20, 2026, to confirm that the City will not enforce, and will to repeal, the ordinance. Failure to do so may result in PSO exercising its sole discretion to terminate all such grants. Our records indicate that the City has received roughly $110 million in PSO grants in Fiscal Year 2026. If PSO elects to terminate those grants, the City would be required to repay to PSO the entire amount on or before the 30th day after PSO terminates."
Houston Mayor John Whitmire said in a statement, "This is a crisis situation. The potential loss of state funding poses real challenges for the Houston Police and Fire Departments and will impact public safety services across our city, the 2026 FIFA World Cup preparations and the Homeland Security Department. Our public safety departments rely on a combination of local, state, and federal resources to operate effectively."
The Source: The information in this article comes from the City of Houston and the governor's office.