WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (APP): Undocumented immigrants in the
flood-hit Texas state were unlikely to get most of the relief benefits and many of them still
face threats of deportation after struck by one of the severest hurricane in the American
history that has so far claimed 47 lives and caused billions of dollars in damages to houses
and infrastructure.
Speaking to reporters at the White House, Homeland Security Adviser Tom
Bossert said that there was no wavering from deportation for those illegal immigrants who
committed crimes. He also indicated that undocumented aliens as a whole would not be
given most of the benefits in relief.
“I don’t think there’s going to be a lot of benefits
going out to illegal immigrants in terms of the American taxpayer,” he said. Hurricane
Harvey that dumped more than 4 feet of rain on the Texan city of Houston where an
estimated 575,000 illegal mostly Latinos live.
Termed as a 1000-year flood, Harvey wreaked havoc in one of the largest
US cities damaging more than 100,000 houses, many of the not covered under flood
insurance. Some 7000 people were rescued and air-lifted to safety.
Asked about the fate of those aliens who faced prospects of deportation,
Bossert said that those who have committed a crime remained the priority for the
Department of Homeland Security, as has also been announced by the Immigration and
Customs Enforcement office.
“What I would say, though, is in terms of immediate life-saving:
No individual human being should worry about their immigration status, unless they’ve
committed a crime on top of coming here illegally, when it comes to getting food, water and
shelter,” the US official told a briefing.
He said that authorities would not be conducting any routine swipes or
searches inside those shelters, which were now home to thousands of people uprooted by the
hurricane and providing food, water, and providing kind of insulation against exposure. “So
that will happen, and we won’t go rounding people up when they show up there. We don’t
want to discourage that.”
Since taking power in January this year, President Trump has announced
various measures to crack down on an estimated 11 illegal immigrants and there has been
a pick-up in deportation which even included those with minor crimes. During the previous
administration of President Barack Obama, only those illegal aliens with felonies were
targeted for deportation.
“Now, subsequently, our priority will be illegal immigrants who
have committed crimes. They’re going to be rounded up as they always are, and taken out
of this country if we find them. I think that’s pretty clear,” Mr. Bossert said.
“Anybody needing food, water, or shelter is going to get it.
Anybody that’s here illegally that subsequently committed a crime is going to get caught
and thrown out. And anybody in between has to wait for a decision or at least a policy
announcement from the administration on how we’re going to handle deferred action
moving forward,” he said.
