{"text":[[{"start":8.3,"text":"The governor of Texas threatened to pull Fifa World Cup security funding from the state’s Democratic cities in a battle over police co-operation with the Trump administration’s immigration crackdown."}],[{"start":18.9,"text":"Governor Greg Abbott said he would cut $200mn in public safety funds, including millions for security during the tournament, from the cities of Houston, Dallas and Austin if they did not revoke policies limiting police collaboration with Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents."}],[{"start":36.65,"text":"Houston and Dallas this week revised their policies, while Austin, which is not hosting a match but is a team base for the Saudi national squad during the tournament, has yet to make a decision. "}],[{"start":47.2,"text":"Andrew Mahaleris, the governor’s press secretary, said: “Governor Abbott has been clear: cities in Texas must comply with state law and co-operate with federal immigration authorities to keep dangerous criminals off our streets. Governor Abbott will continue to use every necessary tool to protect Texans.”"}],[{"start":65.30000000000001,"text":"The governor’s threat to pull funding came less than 50 days before Fifa World Cup matches begin amid concerns that the federal government’s hardline immigration crackdown could deter fans from attending the event. Games will be played in Dallas and Houston throughout the tournament, which runs until July 19."}],[{"start":83.9,"text":"The American Civil Liberties Union said in a joint letter with other human rights groups on Thursday that visitors to the US may be at risk of arrest and deportation."}],[{"start":93.80000000000001,"text":"The policies that Abbott sought to overturn restricted police co-operation with ICE over civil immigration warrants. The governor said this violated state contracts stipulating that law enforcement officers must comply with immigration enforcement. "}],[{"start":109.85000000000001,"text":"After his city reversed the restrictions, Houston mayor John Whitmire said: “We have no alternative for Houston to survive, prepare for Fifa, patrol these neighbourhoods.”"}],[{"start":120.75000000000001,"text":"Hotel executives have warned high ticket prices, inflation fears and anti-American sentiment are prompting international football fans to scale back their travel plans for the World Cup, with hotels in the US cutting rates during the tournament in the summer, according to data tracker Lighthouse Intelligence."}],[{"start":139.10000000000002,"text":"Homeland security secretary Markwayne Mullin said the US government would be working alongside Fifa to “ensure all US-based matches are safe and secure”, in a post on X with Andrew Giuliani, executive director of the White House’s World Cup task force."}],[{"start":156.3,"text":"Republican-led Texas has strongly supported President Donald Trump’s immigration agenda. Last year, attorney-general Ken Paxton agreed to facilitate mass deportations of undocumented migrants and Abbott has championed a tough-on-crime agenda."}],[{"start":173.15,"text":"Along with other states including Florida and Georgia, Texas has adopted so-called anti-sanctuary laws, which compel local law enforcement to co-operate with federal immigration authorities. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"
"}],[{"start":184.75,"text":"The state had 17,908 ICE detainees — the highest number in the country — as of April 2, according to the Transactional Records Access Clearinghouse, a non-profit data research organisation run out of Syracuse University."}],[{"start":199.9,"text":"Since the ordinance failed, Houston remains “one of the only cities that mandates their officers to call ICE”, when the civil warrant appears on a background check, Kirsten Budwine, policy attorney with the Texas Civil Rights Project. “Other cities make that choice discretionary.”"}],[{"start":216.55,"text":"Houston council member Alejandra Salinas, who brought the ordinance, said the governor was using Trump’s tactics to strong-arm the cities. "}],[{"start":224.75,"text":"“He [Abbott] is clearly trying to bully the city of Houston into submission, into giving up local control and giving up the constitutional rights of Houstonians,” Salinas said."}],[{"start":234.5,"text":"“It’s a play out of President Trump’s playbook, pulling grant funding for programmes and laws that he doesn’t like.” "}],[{"start":247.55,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1777084682_2814.mp3"}