Texas governor slashes $1.5 million security grant after local sheriff vows to defy Trump's immigration clampdown by declaring Austin a 'sanctuary city'
- Texas governor Greg Abbott cut back funding to Travis County Sheriff's office
- Sheriff Sally Hernandez said people should be able to report crime without fear
- Under President Trump's plan, illegal immigrants face deportation at any time
- Crime victims who seek police assistance could also face deportation
Texas governor Greg Abbott has slashed $1.5 million in grant money from Travis County - which includes the state capital Austin - after the local sheriff declared it a 'sanctuary city.
Newly elected sheriff Sally Hernandez said her deputies would only provide limited cooperation with federal immigration authorities leading to a stand-off.
Abbott spokeswoman Ciara Matthews said the money that would be withheld from Travis County is a series of one-time criminal justice grants totaling $1.8 million.
Texas governor Greg Abbott, picture yesterday, has slashed $1.5 million from the Travis County sheriff's department because the department has declared the state capital a 'sanctuary city' and will only act against illegal immigrants involved in serious crimes
Abbott toured the Texas border along with the Secretary for Homeland Security John Kelly by helicopter yesterday before announcing the plan to cut the sheriff's funding
Abbott, center, warned newly elected sheriff of Travis County - which includes Austin - Sally Hernandez, that she was 'playing Russian roulette with the lives of Texans' with her policy
About $300,000 of that has already been spent, but she said the governor would not try to claw back that money.
Sanctuary cities in general offer safe harbor to illegal immigrants and often do not use municipal funds or resources to advance the enforcement of federal immigration laws.
Sanctuary city is not an official designation.
In January, newly elected Sheriff Sally Hernandez said in a statement on the Sheriff's Office website that she was 'following all state and federal laws, and upholding constitutional rights to due process for all in our criminal justice system. Our community is safer when people can report crimes without fear of deportation'.
In a January 20 memo, her office said it would make an exception for people charged with serious crimes like murder, aggravated sexual assault, or human smuggling.
Sheriff Sally Hernandez, pictured, said immigrants should be able to report crime without fear of deportation
Hernandez was not available to comment on Wednesday.
Travis County Judge Sarah Eckhardt, who manages the county's budget, said on Wednesday that Hernandez's directive does not violate state or federal law.
She said: 'Any of the 254 sheriffs across the state of Texas has discretion to decide whether or not to put their resources toward assisting federal immigration enforcement.
'I will do everything I can to protect revenue sources. I believe it is foolhardy for the state to starve itself by starving its own programs.'
In a letter to Hernandez in January, Abbott said her position was 'not a pronouncement of sound public policy; it is a dangerous game of political Russian roulette - with the lives of Texans at stake'.
Abbott has voiced strong support for proposed legislation in Texas that would penalize sanctuary cities.
On Tuesday, San Francisco, another sanctuary city, filed a lawsuit challenging a January 25 executive order by President Donald Trump directing the US government to withhold money from cities that have adopted sanctuary policies toward illegal immigrants.
The lawsuit marked the first court challenge over the sanctuary order.
New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, Boston, Denver, Washington and Seattle, in addition to San Francisco, offer forms of protection to illegal immigrants, and billions of dollars in federal aid to those cities could be at risk.
Austin, pictured, has been declared a 'sanctuary city' causing a row with the state's governor
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