OAN Staff Addie Davis
9:17 PM – Wednesday, April 15, 2026
The city of Houston is facing the loss of $110 million in grants over a recent proposition dealing with immigration policy, according to Texas state officials.
In a Monday statement, Houston Mayor John Whitmire (D-Texas) said the city was notified that the recent ordinance puts public safety grants in jeopardy.
A letter from Andrew Friedrichs, executive director of the Public Safety Office (PSO) under Texas Governor Greg Abbott (R-Texas), stated that Houston Mayor Whitmire signed a certification in April 2025 committing the city to “participate fully…in all aspects of the programs and procedures utilized by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS)” as a condition of receiving PSO grants.
This participation includes notifying the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of all information requested by the department related to illegal aliens in the custody of the Houston Police Department (HPD), as well as detaining illegal aliens in accordance with requests by DHS, according to the letter.
“This letter serves to notify you that this new ordinance…is in breach of your April 15, 2025, certification and imperils all grant agreements between the City and PSO for Fiscal Year 2026,” the letter stated.
The ordinance deals with how Houston police cooperate with immigration officers, as well as reporting requirements for encounters regarding immigration status or enforcement.
According to ABC13, the ordinance removes a previous rule that required officers to wait up to 30 minutes for federal immigration agents.
“The ordinance, therefore, provides that officers may not prolong a detention solely to facilitate contact with, or response from, federal immigration authorities absent an independent lawful basis for continued detention,” according to the ordinance document.
The ordinance claimed that an administrative warrant by ICE “is civil in nature and, alone, does not justify a stop, arrest or continued detention by local law enforcement.”
The document, which holds that the ordinance is within state law, claimed that administrative immigration warrants don’t provide a basis for HPD to detain someone, stating that HPD policy “recognizes that immigration status alone is not grounds for local police action.”
State officials, however, view the proposal as a violation of Texas Senate Bill 4, which prohibits the adoption of policies by local governments that “prohibit or materially limit” cooperation with ICE, according to a letter sent to Whitmore by Assistant Attorney General (AG) Steven Ogle of the Administrative Law Division under the header of Texas AG Ken Paxton.
“[The] practical effect is to discourage HPD officers from holding detainees for any length of time lest their actions be second-guessed,” the letter stated about the requirements of the proposal.
Friedrich’s letter pointed to records that Houston has received roughly $110 million in PSO grants for the 2026 fiscal year.
“If PSO elects to terminate those grants, the City would be required to repay to PSO the entire amount on or before the 30th day after PSO terminates,” it stated.
Whitmore said he voted on the ordinance “believing it affirmed our original policy.”
“Houston enforces state and local law-not federal law, and we are not ICE. However, Governor Abbott disagrees,” he stated.
The mayor labelled it as a “crisis situation” and said he is “considering all options.”
“The potential loss of state funding poses real challenges for the Houston Police and Fire Departments and will impact public safety services across our city, the 2026 FIFA World Cup preparations and the Homeland Security Department,” he said.
Friedrich’s letter said Whitmore had until April 20th to confirm that Houston will not enforce the ordinance and will act to repeal it.
“Failure to do so may result in PSO exercising its sole discretion [to] terminate all such grants,” it stated.
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