Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton is suing Houston city officials over the adoption of a “sanctuary” ordinance designed to limit cooperation between local authorities and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).

The ordinance, passed by a 12-5 vote last week, ended a Houston police policy that required officers to wait at least 30 minutes for ICE to arrive if a suspect had an immigration warrant. 

The lawsuit names Houston Mayor John Whitmire, the city’s 16 council members, and Houston Police Chief J. Noe Diaz as defendants.

Paxton argued the ordinance violates Senate Bill 4, a state law passed in 2017 that prevents local governments from adopting, enforcing, or endorsing policies that prohibit or materially limit the enforcement of federal immigration laws.

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“I will not allow any local official to push sanctuary policies that make our communities less safe,” Paxton said in a statement. “Under my watch, no Texas city will be a safe harbor for illegals.

“The Texas Legislature passed strong legislation that specifically stops the type of lawless ordinance that Houston adopted,” he added. “Houston has no authority to ignore the Constitution and the laws duly enacted by the Legislature. I’m calling on Houston to immediately repeal this ordinance.”

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In a statement, Whitmire said it was “unfortunate that so much time and resources are being spent on an issue that should not be partisan.” He added, “It interferes with our responsibility to keep Houston safe and protect all residents.”

Houston City Council member Alejandra Salinas urged the city to defend the ordinance in court.

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“It’s no longer a question about whether the City should go to court,” she wrote on X. “We’re already there. The Mayor and City Council must vigorously defend the law we voted for and that the City Attorney deemed legal. I stand ready to work with my colleagues to defend our laws and protect Houstonians’ constitutional rights.”

Fox News Digital has reached out to several city council members for comment.

Texas Gov. Greg Abbott has also threatened to freeze public safety funding if Houston moves forward with the ordinance.

“Houston received more than $100 million from the state based on a written agreement that they will comply with immigration enforcement,” Abbott wrote on X in a Tuesday post. “If they refuse to comply, they better get out their checkbook. It will be costly if they refuse to keep their streets safe.”

A special City Council meeting scheduled for Friday was pushed back after Abbott extended the deadline for the city to respond to his funding freeze threat.

A Wisconsin sheriff is fighting back against what he calls an “outlandish” story, filing a lawsuit against a woman who claimed she was illegally detained in his jail but was actually staying at a hotel.

Dodge County Sheriff Dale Schmidt announced a civil lawsuit against the woman involved and a local politician he says helped spread the story. Schmidt is seeking $1 million in damages, but says he’s doing this for “accountability.”  

“They came after the wrong sheriff,” Schmidt said Thursday on “The Will Cain Show.”

“When I find evidence to prove that you are telling a lie about my agency, especially when you’re calling my correctional officers liars, you better believe it: I’m going to come back after you,” he added.

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The Dodge County Sheriff’s Office says Sundas “Sunny” Naqvi lied about being held by federal authorities for nearly two days. While Naqvi claimed she was moved across state lines to the Dodge County jail, federal authorities say she was briefly pulled aside at Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport for less than 90 minutes before being released.

“She was out getting spa treatments. She was getting DoorDash. She was doing everything but being in custody of DHS or the Dodge County Sheriff’s Office,” Schmidt said.

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Schmidt’s office says records and surveillance video show Naqvi checking into a Hampton Inn during the time she claimed to have been in custody. The evidence allegedly shows her making multiple transactions at the hotel while she was supposedly incarcerated.

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“Could you imagine having an organization that does things the right way and having somebody come in and just lie through her teeth about being in your facility?” Schmidt said. “My only recourse is to ensure some kind of accountability through a civil lawsuit.”

In addition to Naqvi, Schmidt is suing Cook County Commissioner Kevin Morrison, who he said held a press conference regarding the alleged incident. Schmidt also suggested that others, including potential media outlets, could be added to the suit.

“He’s complicit in this as well. I don’t know for sure if he knew at the time, but I’m leaning toward yes, he did,” Schmidt said.

“He’s running for Congress at the time and going out and doing a huge press conference, gets nationwide coverage for this girl who’s scammed other law enforcement agencies in the past, and what a huge scam it is,” he added.

Fox News Digital reached out to Commissioner Morrison for comment but did not immediately receive a response.

Republican Utah Gov. Spencer Cox and top state lawmakers ordered an independent investigation Friday into a state Supreme Court justice over allegations she had an unethical relationship with an attorney who worked on a high-stakes redistricting case.

Justice Diana Hagen, who was appointed by Cox, stands accused by her ex-husband of sending what he described as “inappropriate” text messages to an attorney who helped challenge a Republican-friendly map that maintained four red congressional seats in Utah. Hagen joined a unanimous decision to toss out Republicans’ redistricting plan in July 2024, a ruling that led to one of the seats flipping blue in time for the 2026 midterms.

The revelation of a possible relationship between Hagen and the attorney, David Reymann, who worked on behalf of progressive voting rights groups in the case, stemmed from a complaint that a lawyer for Hagen’s husband submitted to Chief Justice Matthew Durrant and the Judicial Conduct Commission, according to local outlet KSL.

Hagen and Reymann have both denied the allegations. Fox News Digital reached out to a Utah Supreme Court representative and Reymann for comment.

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The Judicial Conduct Commission, described on its website as an independent body comprising several state lawmakers, judges and members of the public, conducted a preliminary investigation based on the complaint and chose not to pursue the matter further, the outlet reported. Fox News Digital reached out to the Judicial Conduct Commission for comment.

The Utah Supreme Court issued a public statement on behalf of Hagen Friday afternoon in which she said she never had a conflict of interest.

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“My last involvement in the redistricting case was October 2024,” Hagen said. “I voluntarily recused myself from all cases involving Mr. Reymann in May 2025, and my recusal was reflected in the Court’s September 15, 2025 opinion in League of Women Voters. I took prompt, prudent, and transparent steps in response to the allegations made by my ex-husband, including reporting them myself to the Judicial Conduct Commission and submitting a sworn statement. The Judicial Conduct Commission recently reviewed the matter, dismissed the complaint, and closed the case. I remain committed to upholding the highest standards of judicial ethics, integrity, and impartiality.”

The complaint and interviews conducted by the Judicial Conduct Commission found that Hagen and her husband began discussing divorce in September 2024, had interacted together with Reymann toward the end of that year and that Hagen did not meet one-on-one with Reymann until 2025, according to KSL.

Cox, along with Senate President Stuart Adams and House Speaker Mike Schultz, who joined the governor in launching the new investigation, said in a joint statement that more “transparency” was needed on the matter, signaling that the public’s trust in the state’s highest court was at stake, especially after a polarizing decision in a redistricting case set to affect the midterms.

“An initial review by the Judicial Conduct Commission and the court left important questions unresolved,” they said. “Allegations of this nature, especially involving public officials, must be examined with transparency and accountability to establish the facts and to maintain public confidence.”