"Houston is facing a budget shortfall of more than $170 million. Gov. Abbott's threat to cut $114 million in grants — including money tied to FIFA World Cup public safety — put real financial pressure on the city. That pressure is why the council moved quickly to revise an ordinance it had just passed two weeks earlier."
On April 22, 2026, Houston City Council voted 13-4 to revise a two-week-old ordinance that had limited HPD cooperation with ICE. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott had threatened to pull $114 million in public safety grants unless the city reversed course. The revision changed key language around civil immigration warrants. City Attorney Arturo Michel said Fourth Amendment protections remain intact, but critics called the changes a backdoor repeal. An internal HPD directive showed department policy had never actually changed after the original ordinance passed.
## Houston City Council Revises HPD-ICE Ordinance Under State Pressure
On April 22, 2026, the Houston City Council voted **13-4** to revise a month-old ordinance that had limited the Houston Police Department's (HPD) cooperation with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).
### Background
Only two weeks earlier, on April 8, the council had passed a 12-5 ordinance — authored by Council Members Alejandra Salinas, Abbie Kamin, and Edward Pollard — prohibiting HPD officers from detaining people or prolonging traffic stops solely because of civil immigration warrants issued by ICE. The original measure also eliminated a prior HPD guideline allowing officers to wait up to 30 minutes for ICE agents to respond.
### The Threat
Texas Gov. Greg Abbott's office threatened to revoke approximately **$114 million in public safety grants** unless Mayor John Whitmire reversed the measure. Attorney General Ken Paxton also filed a lawsuit to block the ordinance. The pressure came as Houston faces a more than $170 million budget deficit and prepares to spend roughly $65 million in grant money on public safety during the FIFA World Cup matches hosted in the city.
### The Revision
The amended ordinance, negotiated between Whitmire's office and the governor's public safety office, made several key changes:
- **Struck** the definition of civil immigration warrants as warrants "not reviewed by a neutral magistrate or judge and not probable cause for a criminal arrest."
- **Removed** the word "only" from the directive that officers may detain someone only as long as necessary to complete the purpose of a stop, adding language permitting detention "for other legitimate purposes discovered during the detention."
- **Redefined** ICE administrative warrants as commanding arrest "either to conduct removal proceedings or for removal."
City Attorney Arturo Michel maintained that the amendment makes no major substantive changes and that Fourth Amendment protections remain in force. However, an internal HPD circular directive from April 11 — obtained independently by Houston Public Media — showed that, even after the original ordinance passed, department leadership had instructed officers to wait 30 minutes for ICE to respond to civil immigration warrants, meaning HPD's internal policy had never actually changed.
### Reaction
Council Member Salinas characterized the revision as "Abbott's proposed amendment" and warned that the vague language could allow continued constitutional violations. Civil rights groups called the revision a "backdoor attempt" at repeal. Supporters, including Council Member Sallie Alcorn, framed it as protecting both Fourth Amendment rights and the city's financial future ahead of a critical budget season.
