AUSTIN -- Gov. Greg Abbott on Wednesday made good on a promise to cut all state grant funding to Travis County Sheriff Sally Hernandez over a new policy of refusing to cooperate with all federal immigration detainers.

Within hours after Hernandez's new policy took effect, Abbott halted more than $1.5 million in criminal justice grants that go through his office.

Abbott aides said the county already has received $300,000 of a total of $1.8 million in grants to the sheriff's office.

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Hernandez 10 days ago announced a new policy that her department would no longer honor most warrantless requests from U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement to detain jailed suspects who were in the United States illegally.

Hernandez said her policy would not include those charged with murder, aggravated sexual assault and human smuggling.

Neither Hernandez nor Travis County officials had any immediate comment.

According to state records, the grants to Travis County fund such things as courts dealing with family drug-treatment, veterans and DWI cases, along with drug diversion programs, and family violence and victim outreach programs. It was not immediately clear how each program would be affected, or how much of their total budget came from the governor's grants.

Most of Travis County's legislative delegation are Democrats, and they immediately protested Abbott's cutoff of funding as unfair to the participants in the local justice programs.

"Not a single dollar of the (Governor's) Criminal Justice Division grants are allocated to or administered by the Travis County Sheriff's Office," said state Rep. Eddie Rodriguez, D-Austin. "Instead, these resources are used to help veterans get back on their feet, support victims of family violence, reunite children with parents in recovery and reach our youth before they become involved with the criminal justice system in ways that will affect their entire lives."

State Sen. Charles Perry, R-Lubbock, who is the author of a bill that would ban "sanctuaries," said he was unmoved by those pleas, because Hernandez is the one responsible for the cutoff of funding because she's the one who decided not to follow the law.

State Sen. Dawn Buckingham, the only Austin lawmaker who is a Republican, said she firmly supports Abbott's decision.

"We have a clear message to our law enforcement officers: obey the rule of law, respect the detainers or else there are dire consequences," she said.

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