Abbott threatens $200M in funding cuts to Texas cities over ICE cooperation

Governor Greg Abbott threatened on April 17, 2026 to revoke approximately $200 million in state public safety grants from Houston, Dallas, and Austin unless the cities changed policies limiting police cooperation with ICE detainer requests. Houston faced potential loss of $114 million, Dallas $32 million, and Austin $2.5 million in state grants. Within days, Dallas and Austin updated their police general orders to remove bans on prolonging detentions to hold people for ICE, demonstrating how state governments can coerce cities into participating in federal immigration enforcement.