HOUSTON — The governor's office said Monday that the state would withhold $110 million in public safety funding from the City of Houston — which includes funding for the Houston Police Department — unless the City of Houston repeals a newly passed city ordinance by April 20.
The ordinance clarifies that police officers are only allowed to hold people for ICE with a warrant signed by a judge, in accordance with state law and the U.S. Constitution. It passed April 8 with the support of Houston residents, local immigrants’ rights groups, and civil rights organizations.
The following statement can be attributed to Caro Rivera Nelson (she/her/ella), attorney at the ACLU of Texas:
“Gov. Abbott is putting the safety of Texans at risk to score political points. The city ordinance supports longstanding protections under the Fourth Amendment. By threatening to withhold $110 million in public safety funding over this common-sense ordinance, the governor is not only turning his back on law enforcement; he’s trying to usher in a new era of state overreach. Defunding public safety to punish local government for following the Constitution is not within the governor’s authority under state or federal law. Houston may be the first, but it won’t be the last. We urge Houston City Council to uphold the constitutional rights of every person in the city, including all those affected by these baseless attacks.”
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