Houston City Council votes on immigration police change amid threat of losing $110M in grants

HOUSTON - Houston City Council voted to pass changes to a city ordinance on Wednesday that outlines how police should interact with federal immigration authorities after the ordinance prompted the state to threaten to pull $110 million in funding.

The motion passed 13-4.

The backstory:

City council members passed an ordinance on April 8 specifying that officers cannot hold someone longer or extend a stop to wait for ICE, altering a previous policy that required officers to give immigration authorities 30 minutes to respond to the scene.

On April 13, the city announced that the state was threatening to pull $110 million in public safety grants because the ordinance violates the agreements between the state and the City of Houston. The state gave the city until Wednesday to repeal the ordinance before it pulls back the money.

It was a devastating blow for a municipal government already $170 million deep in the "red."  

The projected loss of current and future revenue threatened a cascade of disastrous impacts ranging from inadequate security at the upcoming FIFA World Cup to a likely downgrade in the City's credit rating and even the prospect of municipal layoffs.

Changes to immigration procedures

On Wednesday, Houston City Council voted on an amendment to the city code that the mayor’s office said would reaffirm the Fourth Amendment rights of individuals and create a clear path to restoring the funding from the state.

The proposal included the following changes to Sec. 34-41 of the city code:

Funding at risk

The other side:

Last week, Gov. Greg Abbott explained what would happen if the city did not repeal the April 8 ordinance.

"The City of Houston signed an agreement to get money from the State of Texas that requires Houston to comply with the Department of Homeland Security programs about detaining illegal immigrants. After already getting $110 million from the state under that agreement, Houston is now trying to renege on their obligations," Abbott said.

Abbott said failure to comply with the agreement would mean Houston has to return the $110 million in grants.

Until they repay the money, Abbott said the state comptroller would withhold sales tax money that would otherwise go to the City of Houston.

"It’s not as if they're going to say, ‘Well, we may or may not get around to writing a check.’ Know this: The way the law works, the City of Houston gets a rebate of all the sales taxes collected in the City of Houston on a monthly basis from the comptroller. What happens by law, the comptroller will withhold the sales tax revenue that otherwise would go to the City of Houston and will be retained by the State of Texas until the State of Texas is fully paid the $110 million that is owed by Houston to the state," Abbott said.

In addition, Abbott said the city would still have to find a way to fully fund the police.

"Importantly, the requirement to return the money does not mean defunding the police. I signed a law to prevent cities from defunding the police. Under that law, Houston will have to find the funds elsewhere to fully fund the police," Abbott said.

What they're saying:

Council Members Abbie Kamin and Alejandra Salinas urged Houston Mayor John Whitmire to wage a legal fight.

"If we roll over now to a bully, what will he come for next?" said Kamin.

"There's a lot of accusations of folks playing politics. I think it is clear that the only people doing that are the Governor and the Attorney General," said Salinas.

"As a City, we cannot dig our heels in. Our problems are too big. Our expenses are too large. And I know for a lot of people, unfortunately, believe this feels like surrender, but it's not. This is real stewardship," said Council Member Martha Castex Tatum.

"A measured approach is not weakness. It's responsible governance," said Council Member Joaquin Martinez.

"At the end of the day, we are all sitting here arguing about federal issues. It's time we get back to the business of the city, because we can't say we are doing this for the immigrant community and not have the same urgency to fix the streets, so they can get to work or to fix the flooding, so their homes don't flood," said Council Member Amy Peck.

"This vote is about good government. It isn't about whether the red team wins or the blue team wins. It's about making sure Houston doesn't lose," said Council Member Julian Ramirez.

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