<div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-0"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The office of Gov. Greg Abbott said on Monday that Texas would pull $110 million in public safety spending for Houston — including for the Police Department — unless Mayor John Whitmire vowed to stop enforcing a new city ordinance outlining how its police officers engage with ICE.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The warning came less than a week after the City Council passed the new ordinance, which clarified when city officers can hold people so immigration agents can arrest them. It followed a letter sent on Friday to Mr. Whitmire by the office of the state’s attorney general, Ken Paxton, initiating an investigation into the new ordinance.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Mr. Whitmire said in a statement that the threat from the governor’s public safety office to claw back public safety grants could pose significant problems for Houston, which relies on state and federal money to pay its Police and Fire Departments. The mayor said that reduced funding could affect safety across the city, as well as preparations for the World Cup matches this summer.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">“This is a crisis situation,” he said in a statement.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Abbie Kamin, a Democrat who was one of the sponsors of the ordinance, accused Mr. Abbott, a Republican, of “attempting to defund the police.”</p></div><aside aria-label="companion column" class="css-ew4tgv"></aside></div><div data-testid="Dropzone-1"></div><div class="css-s99gbd StoryBodyCompanionColumn" data-testid="companionColumn-1"><div class="css-53u6y8"><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">“Houston has a responsibility to defend itself from state overreach,” she said in an interview.</p><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">The clash over immigration enforcement represents a critical test for Mr. Whitmire, a veteran Texas Democrat and former longtime state senator who has promoted his ability to work with Republican state leaders in Austin.</p><div class="css-9tf9ac" data-testid="region" id="NYT_MAIN_CONTENT_1_REGION"></div><p class="css-ac37hb evys1bk0">Mr. Whitmire, <a class="css-yywogo" href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/10/19/us/politics/houston-mayor.html" title="">in interviews</a>, has faulted the Democratic leaders of other cities for what he has called “counterproductive” fights with conservatives, particularly those who have challenged the Trump administration over immigration. He has taken pride in what he has said is a lack of turmoil in his city over the matter.</p><div class="css-kbghgg"><div class="css-121kum4"><div class="css-171d1bw"></div><div class="css-asuuk5"><noscript><div class="css-7axq9l" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript"><svg aria-hidden="true" class="css-1b5b8u1" data-tpl="i" height="24" viewbox="0 0 24 24" width="24"><path clip-rule="evenodd" d="M2.5 12a9.5 9.5 0 1 1 19 0 9.5 9.5 0 0 1-19 0Zm8.5 1.75v-7.5h2v7.5h-2Zm0 2v2h2v-2h-2Z" fill="currentColor" fill-rule="evenodd"></path></svg><div class="css-6yo1no" data-testid="optimistic-truncator-noscript-message"><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">We are having trouble retrieving the article content.</p><p class="css-3kpklk" data-tpl="t">Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.</p></div></div></noscript><div class="css-1dv1kvn" id="optimistic-truncator-a11y" tabindex="-1"><hr/><p>Thank you for your patience while we verify access. 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