Blue City Reverses Sanctuary Policy After State Threatens To Pull Millions In Funding

The Houston City Council voted Wednesday to walk back a policy that prevented local police from assisting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after the state of Texas threatened to pull more than $110 million in funds.

Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R) accused the city of violating the terms of the public safety grants after the passage of an ordinance that prevented local police from holding individuals with immigration arrest warrants for 30 minutes while ICE arrives at a scene.

Houston Democratic Mayor John Whitmire revised the ordinance with the help of Abbott’s office after voting in favor of it, according to KHOU. The new version states that Houston police will comply with federal laws and can temporarily hold someone for as long as reasonably necessary.

The Houston City Council passed it in a 13-4 vote, KHOU reported.

A spokesperson for Abbott told The Daily Wire it’s “a step in the right direction after Houston leaders put public safety at risk with reckless policies that undermined law enforcement.”

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton (R) sued the city of Houston over the original ordinance, arguing that “no Texas city will be a safe harbor for illegals.”

Paxton said Wednesday that the legal pressure forced Houston to take “action to reverse its sanctuary policy.”

“My office will continue to review the updated ordinance and ensure that the City of Houston fully complies with SB 4 and does not restrict law enforcement’s ability to assist ICE and enforce immigration law,” Paxton wrote on X Wednesday.

Houston originally passed the ordinance barring local police from assisting ICE on April 8. That led Abbott to threaten to pull the $110 million, arguing the original version of the ordinance resulted in a breach of contract over the grants.

The state requires that recipients of the public safety grants must work with ICE. If they refuse to assist ICE, “they forfeit the money” and must “repay to the state every single dollar they have received,” Abbott told The Daily Wire in a recent interview.

“As President Trump sometimes says, they have no cards,” Abbott said. “We have all the cards in this, and they are going to lose, and they’re not going to be able to balance their budget.”

Last week, Whitmire said the city was facing a “crisis situation,” adding that “the potential loss of state funding poses real challenges” for local authorities and for security at the upcoming 2026 FIFA World Cup.