The Department of Homeland Security announced late Thursday that it would suspend all immigration enforcement actions against potential violators who may be trying to flee Hurricane Matthew in Florida and other southern states.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection released that message just as Florida was being hit by the largest hurricane seen in years. The two DHS agencies said their top priority is protecting and evacuating people, not checking people’s immigration status.
“As such, 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,” they said.
It also encouraged local law enforcement officers to ignore federal “immigration detainers,” which are requests to hold suspected immigration violators so they can be taken into custody by federal officers.
“If a state or local law enforcement agency determines that individuals in their custody should be transferred or released due to Matthew, the state or local law enforcement agency should not decline to do so solely on the basis of an immigration detainer issued by ICE or CBP,” they added.
The agencies said if law enforcement does decide to release people suspect to detainer orders, they should “contact the local ICE or CBP office prior to any such release to ensure that the release does not pose a danger to the community.”
ICE and CBP stressed that immigration laws “will not be suspended,” and said they would be “vigilant against any effort by criminals to exploit disruptions caused by the storm.”
