God bless Texas. Governor Abbott isn’t playing games when it comes to sanctuary cities.
Texas sheriffs could risk losing state grant money if they do not cooperate with immigration authorities and hold undocumented immigrants with criminal records for federal agents to pick them up, Gov. Greg Abbott said Wednesday.
Abbott, a Republican, announced the new policy in a letter to Dallas County Sheriff Lupe Valdez, who has come under fire for saying she would begin making case-by-case decisions on whether to honor federal detainers for inmates. Those detainers ask county jails to hold undocumented immigrants with criminal records for up to 48 hours after they are set to be released so that federal authorities can come take them into custody.
The governor’s criminal justice grants provide counties with funding for a range of resources, including drug courts, juvenile justice programs and body cameras. So far this calendar year, Abbott’s office has awarded $4 million in criminal justice grants, $78,000 of it to Dallas County.
“Beginning now, all (criminal justice division) grant awards will require that sheriff’s departments fully honor (U.S. Customs and Immigration Enforcement) detention requests for criminal immigrants,” Abbott wrote in his letter. “Any applicant that cannot certify that their office will honor all ICE detainers for criminal immigrants will be ineligible for (Criminal Justice Department) funding.”
Read more: Breitbart
