President Donald Trump is reinforcing his executive actions that deliver on promises that defined his campaign.

Tightening border security and sharp shifts in U.S. immigration policy highlighted the president’s speech on Thursday afternoon. President Trump echoed his intention to have Mexico pay for the border wall.

Mexico’s president Enrique Peña canceled a planned meeting with Trump scheduled for next week. The cancelation comes as controversy over immigration changes heats up throughout the country, including Houston.

Immigration rights activists gathered outside the Harris County Sheriff’s Office in opposition to Trump’s executive orders signed Wednesday.

Trump called for building a complete border wall, speeding up deportation and cutting federal grant money to immigrant-protecting cities.

Harris County Sheriff Ed Gonzales and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner do not call Houston a sanctuary city, saying there is no definition for that term.

“The term ‘sanctuary status’ is so ill-defined now,” Gonzales said.

“We are a welcoming city, we are a warm city, we are a loving city, and we embrace people who are within in our city, and we will follow the dictates of laws that exist within our lands,” Turner said.

Gonzales said Thursday he has serious concerns with a federal immigration program that trains his deputies to screen incoming inmates for immigration status.

“Their immigration status is not a question that we delve into in the field, and we’ll continue to follow that policy,” Gonzales said.

Refusal to follow new immigration policy could cut Houston’s federal grant funding.

The Associated Press reports the U.S. Border Patrol Chief has been forced out. In a video conference Thursday morning, the former chief said he was asked to leave and decided to resign rather than fight the request.

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