{"id":23520,"date":"2026-04-22T00:44:02","date_gmt":"2026-04-22T00:44:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/texas-governor-greg-abbott-puts-blue-cities-on-notice-over-sanctuary-policies\/"},"modified":"2026-04-22T00:44:02","modified_gmt":"2026-04-22T00:44:02","slug":"texas-governor-greg-abbott-puts-blue-cities-on-notice-over-sanctuary-policies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nationalgunowner.org\/index.php\/2026\/04\/22\/texas-governor-greg-abbott-puts-blue-cities-on-notice-over-sanctuary-policies\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Governor Greg Abbott Puts Blue Cities On Notice Over Sanctuary Policies"},"content":{"rendered":"


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It\u2019s a real Texas showdown as the Lone Star State battles blue cities attempting to impose sanctuary policies.<\/p>\n

Governor Greg Abbott (R.) has threatened to pull $110 million dollars in public safety grants from Houston over a recent policy that prevents local police from waiting 30 minutes for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to arrive at a scene to detain individuals with immigration warrants. The state has threatened to withhold $90 million in funds from Dallas and $2.5 million from Austin for taking a similar approach to policing.<\/p>\n

In a recent interview with The Daily Wire, Abbott fumed at the \u201cradical leftists and progressives who are running our large blue cities in the state of Texas,\u201d adding, \u201cYou would think this would be something that would happen in some other state, especially because of the laws that we have in place in the state of Texas that don\u2019t exist in some of these blue states.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was in the city of Houston where there were two illegal immigrants who were apprehended and let go and then went on to murder Jocelyn Nungaray,\u201d Abbott said. \u201cAnd so these people are not comprehending the reality. And that is there are deadly consequences by their failure to ensure that we detain illegal immigrants and make sure they clear through ICE and pose no danger to our community. The city of Houston is making their community more dangerous.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBut I\u2019m not going to tolerate, and Texans will not tolerate, policies Houston\u2019s trying to adopt that let dangerous illegal immigrants roam the street without ICE having the opportunity to try to detain them and put them in the deportation process,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

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NEW: Gov. @GregAbbott_TX<\/a> has threatened to pull $110 million dollars in public safety grants from Houston over its recent policy barring local police from waiting 30 minutes for ICE to arrive at a scene to detain individuals with immigration warrants. Tomorrow, the Houston City\u2026 pic.twitter.com\/sjmXP8gF0g<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 Jennie Taer (@JennieSTaer) April 21, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

If things don\u2019t change in Houston, the city could be losing a lot more than just the $110 million in state funds, Abbott warned. The state comptroller could also withhold $40 million a month that the city receives as a sales tax rebate.<\/p>\n

It may be Houston\u2019s \u201clargest source of revenue,\u201d Abbott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s like you getting a paycheck \u2026 on a monthly basis to be able to pay your bills. The city of Houston is going to not get a paycheck of about $40 million a month where they\u2019re not going to be able to pay their bills,\u201d Abbott said.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSo this truly is a crisis, a financial crisis, the city of Houston is going through. And it\u2019s not a crisis made by the state of Texas. It\u2019s a crisis made by their leftist agenda insisting they\u2019ll pay whatever the consequences in order for them to have sanctuary cities,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\n

It all started on April 8, when the Houston City Council passed an ordinance barring local police officers from holding illegal immigrant detainees for extended periods of time for ICE.<\/p>\n

Abbott has threatened to pull $110 million in public safety grants to the city, arguing the latest ordinance has resulted in a breach of contract over the funding.<\/p>\n

The state requires that recipients of the public safety grants agree to work with ICE. And if they don\u2019t, \u201cthey forfeit the money\u201d and must \u201crepay to the state every single dollar they have received,\u201d Abbott said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs President Trump sometimes says, they have no cards,\u201d Abbott said. \u201cWe have all the cards in this, and they are going to lose, and they\u2019re not going to be able to balance their budget.\u201d<\/p>\n

Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton has also sued the city of Houston, arguing that \u201cno Texas city will be a safe harbor for illegals.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houston Mayor John Whitmire said last week that the city has found itself in a \u201ccrisis situation,\u201d arguing that \u201cthe potential loss of state funding poses real challenges\u201d for local authorities and for security at the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Whitmire has called a city council meeting on Wednesday to discuss possibly repealing the ordinance.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe have significant work ahead, and I\u2019m considering all options,\u201d Whitmire said.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n