Texas Governor Makes Good On Grants Cut-Off Threat To County Amid Immigration Feud With Sheriff

AUSTIN, TX — Gov. Greg Abbott followed through on his threat on Wednesday to cut off grants funding to Travis County as a result of the sheriff's limited cooperation with federal immigration officials in helping to deport undocumented residents, according to a published report.

A spokesman for Abbott said the $1.5 million in funds — minus some $300,000 that's already been disbursed — are cancelled as of Wednesday: "This morning, the governor's office is cancelling all currntly active Travis County criminal justice grants," Abbott spokesman John Wittman told the newspaper.

The blocked grants come one day after Abbott said during Tuesday's "State of the State" address that he would make banning so-called sanctuary cities an emergency item of his agenda.

The cutoff comes amid a deadline Abbott set for Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez to begin honoring detainer requests from federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials. In honoring such requests, local law enforcement officials hold any person arrested suspected of being undocumented until a border patrol agent can fetch the arrestee and begin deportation proceedings.

Hernandez secured about 60 percent of the vote in November to secure he sheriff's post against a Republican challenger, vowing to end the ICE-cooperating practice that her predecessor, Greg Hamilton, enthusiastically enforced. But Abbott — whose wife of more than 30 years is herself the granddaughter of immigrants from Mexico — has a harder stance on immigration, forcefully calling for across-the-board deportations for all undocumented residents living in Texas.

In an effort to persuade Abbott from changing his mind about the grant cuts, Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt sent him a letter detailing the various county agencies that would be jeopardized should he follow through with his threat. She listed programs that included agencies dedicated to helping women and children.

But Abbott was unmoved, directing a subordinate to dispute Eckhardt's assertions in a letter some viewed as dismissive of her concerns. Among the county programs that won't get funding as a result due to Abbott's feud with the sheriff are those combating family violence and a special court for veterans getting into legal skirmishes designed to help secure their footing on the right path.

For her part, Hernandez has stood firm in her stance to assist ICE in deporting only a felonious element in the undocumented population, including people accused of human trafficking, murder and aggravated sexual assault.

Eckhardt was scheduled to stage a press conference in response to Abbott's move later on Wednesday in front of the Travis Court Commissioners Court.

>>> Official photo of Gov. Greg Abbott above