Houston city ordinance over ICE cooperation amended after Texas governor's funding threat

A Houston city ordinance that limited police officers’ cooperation with federal immigration agents has been amended after Texas’ governor had threatened to take away millions of dollars in public safety grants.

Two weeks ago, Houston City Council had passed the ordinance, which eliminated a requirement that Houston police officers wait 30 minutes for agents with the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pick up someone with a nonjudicial administrative warrant.

But Gov. Greg Abbott warned city officials that the new ordinance violated the terms of $110 million in state grants Houston had received.

Houston is not alone in its fight with the governor as Dallas and Austin are also facing similar threats to loss of funding for their policies.