Thread: Border agents won`t interfere with hurricane evacuation

May 21, 2008, 3:50PM
Border agents won't interfere with hurricane evacuation


By CHRISTOPHER SHERMAN Associated Press Writer
© 2008 The Associated Press

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McALLEN, Texas — Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff made it clear that federal border agents will not impede a hurricane evacuation from South Texas by checking fleeing residents' documents, diverting from plans confirmed by Border Patrol officials in Texas only days earlier.

Speaking at a hurricane preparedness gathering at FEMA headquarters Tuesday, Chertoff said he wanted to "drive a stake through the heart of a misapprehension which is out there."

"In the event of an emergency, and the need for an evacuation, priority number one by a country mile is the safe evacuation of people who are leaving the danger zone," Chertoff said. "Instructions to the Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection are clear. They are to do nothing to impede a safe and speedy evacuation of a danger zone."

Texas officials had reacted with concern when Border Patrol officials along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas said last week that checkpoints 75 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border would remain open during a hurricane evacuation.

Local emergency management officials feared the checkpoints could become bottlenecks for traffic fleeing the coast and low-lying Rio Grande Valley, dissuading illegal residents or those with undocumented family members from heading to safety.

"Now, obviously the laws dont get suspended, but it does mean that our priorities are to make sure we can move traffic along quickly," Chertoff said. "We're not going to be bogging people down with checks or doing things to delay the rapid movement of people out of the zone of danger."

The policy clarification continued locally Wednesday when Ronald Vitiello, chief of the Border Patrol's Rio Grande Valley Sector, released a letter echoing Chertoff's remarks.

"Our primary role in such events will be the safeguarding of life," the letter said. "No enforcement role will be undertaken that will in any way impede the safe and orderly evacuation of any member of the south Texas population."

A spokeswoman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry, termed the idea of operating the checkpoints in a hurricane "nonsensical" and said the state was pleased to be back on the same page with the federal government.

"Gov. Perry spoke with officials with the U.S. Border Patrol and received assurances that, while patrolmen will always have a presence to ensure criminals do not try to take exploit an emergency situation, they will not stop people fleeing from harm's way," said Krista Piferrer.








http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/tx/5794849.html

This sounded a little screwy to me. I would expect the Border Patrol to be aware of more illegals crossing the border if they think the Patrol will evacuate.
Better put extra guards at the shelters too. I heard of truckloads of food and supplies disappearing from the Astrodome after Katrina refugees received tons of donations.
Seems like I heard similar stories after the California fires last year.