Greg Abbott adds DFW Airport to list of local targets

Gov. Greg Abbott added Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport to his growing list of threats in the DFW area last week. The action came straight from what has seemingly become his usual playbook: threatening to withhold federal funds. 

Abbott named DFW Airport in a letter to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, claiming the addition of Islamic foot-washing stations was illegal because they “appear designed to single out one subset of the population for special treatment based on religion.”

The DFW Airport had planned to add the new ablution stations, used by those of Muslim faith to perform a ritual washing of feet, face and hands before praying, to the pre-security side of its international terminal. The airport cut the project after Abbott requested an investigation from the Department of Transportation and the Federal Aviation Administration. On the same day, Abbott told DFW Airport CEO Christopher McLaughlin he was “actively reviewing all grants to any local governmental entities involved in these schemes for possible revocation.”

The dangling of federal and state funding is not a new strategy from Abbott, who has threatened North Texas multiple times in recent months. 

Rainbow crosswalks

Back in March, Dallas removed its rainbow and Black Lives Matter crosswalks honoring LGBTQ+ and Black communities after a directive from Abbott in October. Dallas applied for exemptions for several organization-funded crosswalks, but was denied and told the city could face federal and state project funding cuts if it did not comply. 

DPD and ICE

Fast forward to mid-April, when Abbott informed Dallas that $32.1 million was on the chopping block unless the city repealed rules governing local law enforcement’s role in immigration efforts. Along with the $32 million in state funding, Abbott threatened to withhold $50 million in federal aid for public safety efforts during the FIFA World Cup.

Dallas was almost successful in staying off state leaders’ radars, having stayed quiet about their activity, or lack thereof, with Immigration and Customs Enforcement. After rising pressures from Dallas residents asking for transparency on ICE involvement, police Chief Daniel Comeaux said DPD would not conduct investigations with ICE, and later let slip that he rejected a $25 million reimbursement contract with ICE that would have paid the department for the arrest of undocumented Dallas residents. 

Muslim water park party

Abbott invoked his “religious discrimination” reasoning against Dallas County in May, leading Grand Prairie to cancel a private water park event. The event was created as a celebration for Eid al-Adha, a Muslim holy day, and scheduled to be held at Epic Waters Indoor Waterpark. 

Abbott said he would withhold $535,000 in grant funds unless Grand Prairie canceled the event and committed to “never allowing something like it again.”

“Let this be a lesson to local officials: Facilities funded by ALL taxpayers are not just for a subset of Texans,” Abbott said in a post on X.