Texas’s governor threatened to pull World Cup grants in battle over ICE enforcement

texas governor greg abbott threatened to withhold world cup security grants from democratic-run cities unless they cooperate with ice enforcement. houston, dallas, and austin — all hosting fifa matches in 2026 — reversed their local policing rules to qualify for the state funds. the grants cover overtime for police, emergency response, and traffic control during the tournament. abbott's office confirmed the funding was contingent on cities allowing ice access to local jails and not adopting sanctuary policies. the three cities had previously limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities. now they've agreed to notify ice when they detain someone suspected of being in the country illegally. the world cup is expected to draw over a million visitors to texas across the three host cities.