Dallas officials are facing the potential loss of tens of millions in state funding after the city’s police department adopted policies limiting cooperation with federal immigration authorities.
The threat comes as part of a growing clash between Gov. Greg Abbott and Texas’ largest cities.
In a letter sent Thursday to Mayor Eric Johnson, Andrew Friedrichs, executive director of the Public Safety Office in the governor’s office, warned the city may be in breach of its grant agreements due to Dallas Police Department General Order 315.04.
That policy, according to Friedrichs, allows officers to refuse certain cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, including declining to notify ICE about an individual’s immigration status and prohibiting detention based on federal requests.
State officials say those provisions directly contradict a certification signed by the Dallas city manager in April 2025 as a condition of receiving Public Safety Office grant funding. In that certification, the city agreed that police would “participate fully” in federal immigration enforcement programs, including notifying the Department of Homeland Security of requested information and detaining individuals in accordance with federal requests.
Friedrichs wrote that the current policy “impede[s] or restrict[s]” communication with federal authorities and does not reflect full participation in those programs.
The letter gives Dallas until April 23 to confirm it will stop enforcing and move to repeal the policy. Failure to do so could result in the termination of all related grants.
According to the Public Safety Office, Dallas received approximately $32.1 million in grant funding for fiscal year 2026. If those funds are revoked, the city could be required to repay the full amount within 30 days.
The letter also warns the policy could jeopardize an additional $55.1 million in public safety funding tied to the FIFA World Cup in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
The warning to Dallas comes as similar disputes unfold in Austin and Houston.
In Austin, state officials have raised concerns over updated police policies that prohibit officers from detaining individuals solely based on ICE administrative warrants and require supervisory approval before coordinating with federal authorities. That policy has put roughly $2.5 million in state grant funding at risk.
Meanwhile in Houston, Mayor John Whitmire is now calling for repealing a recently passed ordinance he initially supported limiting cooperation with ICE after the governor’s Public Safety Office warned the city it could lose more than $110 million in grant funding.
