see also: in September 2008:   Ramey Border Patrol Sector Sponsors Intelligence Training   CBP Arrests Woman at California Port after Discovering 3 Hidden Females   Laredo Sector Border Patrol Agents Rescue Lost Alien   Customs and Border Protection Warns Floral Importers About Unripe Poppy Pods   CBP Officers Arrest Man Wanted for Failing to Register as Sex Offender   El Paso CBP Officers Discover 3,000 Pounds of Marijuana in Shipment of Watermelons   CBP Seizes More Than $360,000 in Undeclared Currency ...more on cbp.gov:   CBP News Releases   Press Officers

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Rio Grande Valley, Texas - U.S Customs and Border Protection continues supporting Texas’ Hurricane Ike rescue and recovery operations.

“CBP has deployed a wide range of law enforcement, medical and technical capabilities to the devastated Houston region and we stand ready to lend these capabilities to Texas recovery operations,” said Ronald Vitiello, Border Patrol chief of the Rio Grande Valley and CBP lead field coordinator for Hurricane Ike response efforts.

Over 100 CBP personnel from the offices of field operations Border Patrol, and air and marine operations have been assigned 13 missions by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. Seven missions remain active, including urban search and rescue, aerial damage assessment, and public safety and security.

Over 300 personnel from CBP’s offices of field operations, Border Patrol, air and marine operations and information and technology are reconstituting CBP air and sea operations, and are conducting relief operations for CBP employees. Sunday and Monday CBP response activities include:

• CBP field operations restarted passenger and limited air cargo operations at Bush Intercontinental Airport today. One hundred twelve deployed CBP officers are en route to Houston to augment local Houston staff.
• CBP officers helped construct evacuation shelters in San Antonio.
• Border Patrol agents conducting safety and security mission and providing medical attention to Galveston evacuees sheltered in San Antonio.
• Medically trained BP agents assisted the State of Texas in the evacuation of 200 Galveston special needs evacuees.
• BP agents filling a FEMA ESF-13 safety and security mission assignment at a FEMA Point of Distribution site in Houston.
• Air and marine units continue flying damage assessment surveys for Texas of critical infrastructure, including coastal communities, medical facilities and power grids.
• Seaport operations in Houston, Galveston, Freeport, Texas City, Port Arthur and Beaumont remain closed. CBP officers are preparing to clear cruise ship Ecstasy passengers after the ship was diverted to New Orleans.
• Deployed CBP employees have completed 132 of 186 relief missions to support CBP local employees impacted by Hurricane Ike and continue to conduct damage assessments of CBP facilities.
• 937 CBP employees live in the Houston region; 101 were evacuated; all have been accounted for.

“We will continue our efforts to reconstitute CBP facilities throughout the region so that we are ready to staff all of our facilities when the airports and seaports are ready to re-open.” said Jeffrey Baldwin, director of field operations for the Houston region and commander of CBP’s Forward Deployed Operations Command Center in Houston.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.