Texas hurricane shelters won't ask about immigration status
Texas officials say shelters that are opening statewide as Hurricane Harvey barrels toward the coast won't ask arriving families about their immigration status.
Republican Gov. Greg Abbott said Friday the main focus is on safety and "the protection of life." Harvey is set to make landfall a week before a new "sanctuary city" crackdown in Texas signed by Abbott takes effect.
The law allows police officers to ask people about their immigration status during routine stops. It also threatens police chiefs and sheriffs with jail time if they don't cooperate with federal immigration authorities.
Texas' largest cities, including Dallas and Houston, have asked a federal judge to stop the law from taking effect Sept. 1
Abbott also expressed no concerns about inland U.S. Border Patrol checkpoints hampering evacuation efforts near the Texas-Mexico border.
Harvey has been upgraded to a dangerous Category 3 hurricane. It's expected to make landfall in Texas late Friday or early Saturday morning. Abbott warned Texans on Friday that Hurricane Harvey "is going to be a very major disaster" and said he's asked Trump for a federal disaster declaration.