Texas defeats Houston’s play to stop helping ICE, align with ‘sanctuary’ cities

Published April 25, 2026 7:00am ET



A fight decades in the making came to a head this week as Texas defeated Houston’s push to stop cooperating with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, sealing the Democrat-run city’s fate for the time being.

The administration of Gov. Greg Abbott (R-TX), an incumbent seeking a fourth term in November, delivered a blow to Democrats in the nation’s fourth most populous city by holding back state funding after Houston attempted to step out of line with the state’s immigration approach. It’s the latest example of a fallout between a red state and a blue city over how to respond to ICE’s crackdown on illegal immigrants nationwide as President Donald Trump continues his mass deportation operation.

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