Hurricane Harvey: Border Checkpoints Will Close As Texas State Highways Close

As Texas braces for Hurricane Harvey, now a category 3 storm packing wind speeds of 110 miles per hour that is expected to make a landfall along the state's coast late Friday, the U.S. Border Patrol says checkpoints in the path of the hurricane will close as state highways close, while checkpoints not in the path of the storm will not close at all.

"These closures will occur in a manner that ensures the safety of the traveling public and our agents," a CBP spokesman said in an emailed statement to Patch. "Border Patrol checkpoints that are outside of the path of the hurricane will remain operational. CBP will remain vigilant against any effort by criminals to exploit disruptions caused by the storm."

In a joint statement issued by Immigration and Customs Enforcement and CBP on Friday, the two agencies said "routine non-criminal immigration enforcement operations will not be conducted at evacuation sites, or assistance centers such as shelters or food banks. The laws will not be suspended, and we will be vigilant against any effort by criminals to exploit disruptions caused by the storm." (For more hurricane coverage or Meyerland news, click here to sign up for real-time news alerts and newsletters from Meyerland Patch, and click here to find your local Texas Patch. If you have an iPhone, click here to get the free Patch iPhone app.)

Harvey Could Be The Strongest Hurricane To Hit The US Since 2005

As The Texas Tribune noted, ahead of Hurricane Matthew in 2016, ICE put out a statement saying "there will be no immigration enforcement initiatives associated with evacuations or sheltering related to Matthew, including the use of checkpoints for immigration enforcement purposes in impacted areas during an evacuation." The Tribune notes that ICE issued a similar statement ahead of Hurricane Isaac in 2012.

The American Civil Liberties Union of Texas said CBP was sending a dangerous message for refusing to suspend immigration enforcement.

"As people seek refuge from hurricane Harvey, they are likely to have to go north or west of Texas and would have to go through a checkpoint," Lorella Praeli, ACLU director of immigration policy and campaigns, said in a statement. "By keeping checkpoints open, the Border Patrol is putting undocumented people and mixed-status families at risk out of fear of deportations.

“This is a disgusting move from the Border Patrol that breaks with past practices. The Border Patrol should never keep checkpoints open during any natural disasters in the United States. Everyone, no matter the color of their skin or background, is worth saving.”

The center of the storm is expected to make landfall late Friday with winds in excess of 115 miles per hour and torrential rains expected to dump 15 to 25 inches on the middle and upper coast, with isolated totals of up to 35 inches. The National Hurricane Center warned of a “devastating and life-threatening” storm surge that would raise water up to 12 feet above normally dry land along the coast and cause damaging flash flooding well inland.

Top 10 Items You Need In Your Hurricane Emergency Kit

If Harvey continues to build momentum, it will be the first major hurricane, rated Category 3 or higher, to make U.S. landfall since Wilma arrived in 2005. In 2008, Hurricane Ike was a Category 4 at sea but made landfall as a Category 2. Once Harvey makes landfall, it's expected to sit and meander over the Texas coast rather than move inland, producing copious amounts of rain.

The CBP said its highest priorities are to promote life-saving and life-sustaining activities, the safe evacuation of people who are leaving the impacted area, the maintenance of public order, the prevention of the loss of property to the extent possible and the speedy recover of the region.

ICE and CBP said they will provide for the safety and security of those in their custody and are temporarily moving detainees from the Port Isabel Detention Center to detention facilities outside the projected path and destruction of the hurricane.

Voluntary evacuations have been issued for Corpus Christi. As the Houston Chronicle notes, CBP operates two major inland checkpoints south of Corpus Christi, one in Brooks County and the other in Kenedy County.

Photo by David J. Phillip/Associated Press