cooperation

HOUSTON — A Houston city ordinance that limited police officers’ cooperation with federal immigration agents was amended on Wednesday after Texas’ governor threatened to take away millions of dollars in public safety grants.

Houston, Austin and Dallas — three of the state’s biggest cities and Democratic strongholds — are being confronted by GOP Gov. Greg Abbott with threats of losing public safety dollars over policies that dictate how law enforcement interacts with federal immigration authorities. The three cities are being threatened with the loss of about $200 million in public safety funding, including tens of millions expected to cover security at World Cup matches this summer in Dallas and Houston.

Two weeks ago, the Houston City Council passed the ordinance, which eliminated a requirement that Houston police officers wait 30 minutes for agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to pick up someone with a nonjudicial administrative warrant. If ICE agents didn’t show up in time, police officers took a detained person’s information and then released them.

But Abbott warned city officials that the new ordinance and its limitation on cooperating with ICE agents violated the terms of $110 million in state grants Houston had received for police and security during the World Cup games the city is hosting in June.

Texas Atty. Gen. Ken Paxton had also filed a lawsuit against Mayor John Whitmire and members of the City Council over the ordinance, accusing them of violating a 2017 state law that prevents cities from adopting policies that limit the enforcement of immigration laws and that also banned “sanctuary city” policies in the state. There is no strict definition for sanctuary policies or sanctuary cities, but the terms generally describe limited cooperation with ICE.

After more than two hours of discussion during its weekly meeting, the Houston City Council voted 13 to 4 to make changes to the ordinance. Whitmire said he had consulted with Abbott’s office about making changes that would prevent Houston from losing its funding.

The amended ordinance deletes language that highlighted that administrative warrants — versus warrants signed by a judge — that ICE agents use to take individuals into custody are not enough for officers to arrest or detain an individual.

Houston Mayor John Whitmire speaks during a City Council meeting on Wednesday.

(Raquel Natalicchio/AP)

“We have no alternative for Houston to survive, prepare for [the World Cup], patrol these neighborhoods,” Whitmire said. “We’ve got to have today the restoration of the $114 million.”

Andrew Mahaleris, a spokesperson for Abbott, said the governor expects any policy Houston police adopt has to comply with the city’s certification that it will fully cooperate with the Department of Homeland Security.

“This vote is a step in the right direction after Houston leaders put public safety at risk with reckless policies that undermined law enforcement,” Mahaleris said in a statement.

Councilmember Abbie Kamin, one of three members who had pushed for the ordinance, voted against amending it, saying that doing so was giving in to bullying tactics from state leaders.

“If we roll over now to a bully, what will he come for next?” Kamin said.

Councilmembers Edward Pollard and Alejandra Salinas, who also pushed for the ordinance, said they remained hopeful the changes approved Wednesday would not violate individuals’ constitutional rights and wouldn’t result in people being held on nonjudicial warrants.

Nikki Luellen, an advocate for criminal justice reform for the ACLU of Texas, called the amended ordinance “a green light for deeper collaboration between ICE and the Houston Police Department.”

Martha Castex-Tatum was one of several council members who had supported the ordinance but voted in favor of amending it in order to protect the city’s finances.

“For some people, this may feel like surrender. It’s not. It’s real stewardship,” Castex-Tatum said.

Dallas officials have said they are committed to ensuring public safety.

Austin Mayor Kirk Watson, a moderate Democrat, said the local policy complies with state law. He said Abbott’s threat to cut nearly $3 million in Austin would cut trauma aid for police officers and sexual assault victims.

“We don’t have the time and will not play into this political theater,” Watson said.

Austin officials have since indicated they could try to negotiate with Abbott.

The debate in Houston and other Texas cities comes during fraught times. Whitmire and other local leaders in many of Texas’ left-leaning urban areas have tried not to draw the federal government’s attention amid the aggressive immigration crackdown by President Trump’s administration.

Lozano writes for the Associated Press. AP writer Jim Vertuno in Austin contributed to this report.

April 22 (Asia Today) — South Korean President Lee Jae-myung held summit talks with Vietnam’s top leader on Tuesday to strengthen cooperation in nuclear energy, infrastructure and supply chains, as both countries seek to navigate rising global uncertainties.

Lee met with To Lam in Hanoi during a state visit, where the two sides discussed expanding strategic cooperation across key sectors, including energy security and critical minerals.

The talks come as prolonged conflict in the Middle East heightens concerns over global energy supply disruptions, prompting both countries to pursue more resilient and diversified supply chains.

South Korea and Vietnam, each among the other’s top three trading partners, agreed to deepen cooperation not only in trade and investment but also in nuclear power, infrastructure, defense and other strategic industries.

The two countries have set a goal of increasing bilateral trade from $94.6 billion in 2025 to $150 billion by 2030.

Lee is expected to express support for South Korean companies seeking to participate in major Vietnamese infrastructure projects, including a new urban development project valued at about 1.1 trillion won ($740 million) and a new airport project estimated at 102.7 billion won ($69 million).

The leaders are also expected to discuss expanding cooperation in science and technology, climate response, artificial intelligence semiconductors and cultural industries, as well as boosting people-to-people exchanges such as tourism.

Ahead of the summit, Lee said relations between the two countries had reached a “comprehensive strategic partnership” following the 30th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2022.

“Through this visit, we aim to further develop our highest-level cooperation into a more future-oriented and strategic partnership,” Lee said during a meeting with Korean residents in Vietnam.

Lee also paid tribute at the mausoleum of Ho Chi Minh before the summit and is scheduled to attend a state banquet hosted by the Vietnamese leadership.

On Wednesday, Lee is expected to meet Vietnam’s prime minister and National Assembly chair, and attend a business forum with executives from major South Korean conglomerates, including Lee Jae-yong, Chey Tae-won and Koo Kwang-mo.

— Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

© Asia Today. Unauthorized reproduction or redistribution prohibited.

Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260422010007161

Top naval commanders of South Korea, the United States and Japan gathered in Seoul on Wednesday to hold a series of talks aimed at strengthening their trilateral maritime security cooperation, the South’s Navy said.

The gathering brought together Chief of Naval Operations Adm. Kim Kyung-ryul, U.S. Pacific Fleet Commander Adm. Stephen Koehler and Adm. Akira Saito, chief of staff of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, for bilateral talks and a trilateral dinner meeting, according to the armed service.

The meetings came amid heightened tensions in the Middle East, raising speculation over whether their talks would address the ongoing U.S. blockade of Iranian ports.

U.S. President Donald Trump earlier called on South Korea, Japan and others to send warships to the Strait of Hormuz to help secure shipping lanes.

In the bilateral talks between Kim and Koehler held earlier in the day, both sides exchanged opinions on the robust South Korea-U.S. combined defense posture as well as cooperation in the area of naval maintenance, repair and operations, the Navy said.

Kim and Saito, meanwhile, held in-depth discussions on expanding personnel exchange and resuming joint maritime search and rescue exercises (SAREX) as discussed in a ministerial meeting between their defense chiefs earlier this year, it added.

In January, Defense Minister Ahn Gyu-back and his Japanese counterpart, Shinjiro Koizumi, met in Japan and agreed to resume joint SAREX drills for the first time in nine years as part of efforts to strengthen bilateral defense cooperation.

The top admirals of the three countries were set to attend a dinner meeting later Wednesday to likely discuss trilateral coordination measures to respond to and deter North Korea‘s advancing nuclear and missile threats.

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April 10 (UPI) — The government of Brazil on Friday announced an agreement with the United States to combat transnational crime — a move that will integrate intelligence sharing and joint operations to target organized criminal networks.

The initiative was presented by Brazil’s finance ministry, where Minister Darío Durigan said the agreement between Brazil’s Federal Revenue Service and U.S. Customs and Border Protection will enable the exchange of cargo data, particularly on shipments leaving the United States for Brazil.

The focus will be on intercepting illegal goods, such as weapons and narcotics.

The announcement comes as Washington considers designating Brazil-based criminal groups Primeiro Comando da Capital and Comando Vermelho as terrorist organizations, according to outlet G1 O’Globo.

The effort gained traction after Eduardo Bolsonaro and Flávio Bolsonaro, sons of former President Jair Bolsonaro, urged members of the administration of Donald Trump to take action, The New York Times reported. U.S. officials have not publicly confirmed any such designation.

Brazilian authorities also highlighted the rollout of the DESARMA program, a system designed to allow real-time information sharing when customs officials identify shipments linked to firearms, ammunition, explosives and other sensitive materials.

Officials said the tool enables authorities to trace the origin of illicit goods and map criminal networks involved in the international arms trade.

Recent records show the system has expanded the ability to detect, connect and track illicit weapons flows, with early results already benefiting both countries.

U.S.-provided intelligence has helped uncover sophisticated smuggling methods, including rifle components hidden inside airsoft equipment and drugs concealed in packages labeled as common goods such as pet food sent through postal services.

Over the past 12 months, authorities identified 35 incidents involving the seizure of 1,168 items, weighing about 550 kilograms, primarily shipped from Florida using fraudulent declarations and concealment techniques.

Brazil’s tax revenue secretary, ​Robinson Barreirinhas, said ‌more than 1,100 weapons ​were seized ​over the past 12 ⁠months arriving from ​the United States, ​and that in the first quarter alone, authorities ​have seized more ​than 1.5 tons of ‌drugs.

Brazil’s finance ministry said consolidating this data into a structured database has improved identification of patterns, links between senders and recipients, and recurring trafficking routes. This, in turn, has strengthened information-sharing with U.S. authorities to support enforcement action at the source and dismantle criminal networks.

The ministry added that the cooperation is part of ongoing dialogue between President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva and Trump, and forms part of a broader bilateral agenda focused on combating transnational organized crime.