Many people among my friends have been through monsoons, hurricanes, floods, tornados, & other natural disasters so I know you will understand the criminality of US immigration policy during hurricanes. Since this area is the border region with Mexico & a major transit point for undocumented immigrants & refugees, there are thousands living & working here without papers. That’s because about 50 miles or so north of the border the US Border Patrol has checkpoint stations on the highways. When you travel north you have to pass through these checkpoints car by car where you’re briefly interrogated by an agent. It is extremely difficult for undocumented immigrants to bypass, especially in blistering heat, & many die in the attempt.

Originally they thought Hurricane Harvey (which has Houston, Texas buried in two feet of water) might be headed for this region which is one of the poorest in the country because of the high population of undocumented immigrants. The US Border Patrol announced that if the hurricane hit the region they would still maintain the checkpoints lest any undocumented immigrants evacuate with everybody else. That is not a Trump-era policy but was fully in force during Obama’s tenure. Consider the barbarism of a policy that would allow human beings to endure a hurricane, often without shelter, just because they did not have papers. Consider the ignominy of a policy that would force thousands fleeing a hurricane to stop in hours of traffic so that agents can confirm they are not undocumented. It isn’t just Trump we have to take down but also these barbaric policies.