AUSTIN (Talk1370.com) -- Governor Greg Abbott's office is threatening to claw back approximately $2.5 million in public safety grants from the City of Austin following a dispute over the Austin Police Department’s updated immigration enforcement policies.
In a letter sent by the Governor’s Public Safety Office, the state warned that revised department orders adopted in March directly contradict a certification signed by City Manager T.C. Broadnax last year. That certification required APD to notify the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) of undocumented immigrants in custody and comply with federal detainer requests as a condition of receiving state funds.
At the heart of the standoff is the department's General Order 319.2.2. The updated version allows APD officers to:
- Decline notifying Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) regarding administrative warrant matches.
- Refrain from detaining individuals based solely on those administrative warrants.
APD Chief Lisa Davis, in a memo to Austin City Council members last month, stated the revisions were prompted by a January incident involving a disturbance call where a subject had an active ICE warrant. The new policy mandates supervisor notification and prohibits "unreasonably prolonging" a detention while contacting federal authorities.
The state has given the city until April 23 to repeal the policy changes, or face the immediate termination of the grants. If the funding is pulled, the city will be forced to repay the full amount within 30 days.
"Please respond by April 23, 2026, to confirm that the City will not enforce, and will act to repeal, the March 4, 2026, amendments," wrote PSO Executive Director Andrew Friedrichs. "Failure to do so may result in PSO exercising its sole discretion to terminate all such grants."
Earlier this week, the Texas Attorney General’s Office announced its own separate investigation into Austin’s policy, citing potential violations of Senate Bill 4, a 2017 state law prohibiting "sanctuary" policies in local jurisdictions.
Abbott's office is also threatening the city of Houston over its own policies regarding cooperation with ICE, with more than $100 million in public safety grants being threatened. Houston City Council members are slated to consider repealing the ordinance next week, while Houston Mayor John Whitmire continues discussions with the governor's office.
