Houston: We won’t check immigration status at shelters

The City of Houston said Tuesday that officials won’t ask for immigration status or documents at shelters for victims displaced by Tropical Storm Harvey.
“WE WILL NOT ASK FOR IMMIGRATION STATUS OR PAPERS AT ANY SHELTER,” the city’s official Twitter account tweeted, before repeating the same message in Spanish.
WE WILL NOT ASK FOR IMMIGRATION STATUS OR PAPERS AT ANY SHELTER. No vamos a pedir documentos ni estatus migratorio en ningun albergue
— City of Houston (@HoustonTX) August 29, 2017
The message comes as floods continue to impact the city after Harvey passed through over the weekend, driving many to shelters in a city with a large immigrant population.
{mosads}Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner (D) promised Monday that he would represent any immigrant that faces deportation after seeking assistance during and after the storm.
“I and others will be the first ones to stand up with you,” Turner said at a press conference. “If you need help and someone comes and they require help, and then for some reason, then somebody tries to deport them, I will represent them myself, okay?”
Federal Emergency Management Agency officials also promised not to enforce immigration laws at shelters and other locations offering assistance to victims of the storm.
“U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) have stated that it is not conducting immigration enforcement at relief sites such as shelters or food banks,” FEMA wrote on its website.
These announcements come after Customs and Border Protection said it would keep border checkpoints open during the storm.
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