Houston City Council voted 13-4 Wednesday to approve Mayor John Whitmire’s amended immigration ordinance, purportedly bringing an end to a weeks-long standoff with the state over more than $100 million in frozen public safety funding.
City Attorney Arturo Michel said the amendment, which took effect immediately, makes no major changes to the original measure. He added that the revised language was negotiated directly between the mayor’s office and the governor’s Public Safety Office.
A spokesperson for the governor called Houston’s vote to revise its ICE policy “a step in the right direction” after initiating “reckless policies that undermined law enforcement.” He added that the governor expects full cooperation with DHS and will “use every necessary tool to protect Texans.”
However, hours later in an appearance on Fox News‘ Will Cain Show, Abbott said the Houston Police Department “has not fully agreed to fully comply” with its state contract—warning the department could still cost Houston $110M if it doesn’t detain illegal aliens it encounters and notify immigration officials.
The dispute traces back to April 8, when the council passed an ordinance eliminating a prior requirement that Houston Police Department officers hold individuals for up to 30 minutes while waiting for Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents to respond.
Gov. Greg Abbott’s office responded by freezing the city’s grant funding and giving Houston a deadline to reverse course. Attorney General Ken Paxton filed a lawsuit against the city, arguing that the ordinance violated state law prohibiting local governments from adopting policies that restrict cooperation with federal immigration enforcement.
Wednesday’s vote was not a repeal but an amendment, which meant Whitmire only needed 9 of 17 council votes rather than the 12 required to fully rescind the policy under city rules. Council members Alejandra Salinas, Abbie Kamin, Edward Pollard, and Tiffany Thomas voted against the measure.
The revised ordinance adjusts how ICE administrative warrants are defined, removing language from the original that said those warrants do not establish probable cause, and replacing it with language describing them as orders related to deportation or removal proceedings. It also strips the word “only” from the detention language, broadening the circumstances under which officers may hold an individual beyond the initial purpose of a stop.
City Attorney Arturo Michel said officers are still expected to comply with Fourth Amendment protections and that a detention should last only as long as necessary to complete the criminal investigation at hand. The ordinance also still requires HPD to submit quarterly public reports to the city council detailing immigration-related activity, including when officers inquire about immigration status or contact ICE.
The at-risk grants total $114 million according to city documents, including $65 million for FIFA World Cup security, $21 million for high-threat area programs, $16 million for counter-drone efforts, and $10 million for equipment.
Whitmire, who initially supported the April 8 ordinance before calling for its reversal, told council members the city had no path forward without resolving the funding dispute, pointing to a more than $170 million budget deficit heading into June.
Salinas, who spearheaded the original ordinance, was critical of the revision and of Whitmire’s handling of the situation. “It is unfortunate that you are unwilling to take this fight to court,” she said Wednesday. Whitmire fired back with what appeared to be a thinly veiled reference to her recent special election win, saying the city had a working system “until about three months ago.”
The dispute has extended beyond Houston.
The governor’s Public Safety Office sent warning letters to Austin and Dallas on the same day Paxton filed suit against Houston.
Austin faces the potential loss of roughly $2.5 million in state grant funding after its police department updated its general orders in March to restrict officer cooperation with ICE absent supervisory approval. Austin Mayor Kirk Watson has said the city plans to push back.
Dallas faces a far steeper exposure, with approximately $32.1 million in existing grant funding on the line, along with an additional $55.1 million tied to FIFA World Cup preparations in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. Dallas officials acknowledged the warning letter and said they would respond by the April 23 deadline. Both cities were given the same ultimatum Houston faced: confirm compliance or lose the funding.
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