The United States is deporting people from southeastern Texas again after taking a brief break in enforcement during Hurricane Harvey rescue and recovery efforts.

The administration of Donald Trump announced the change, saying that everyone in the country illegally is on the chopping block there, but that response operations would still not be subjected to raids.

“Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers have resumed regular, targeted immigration enforcement operations in the area — with the exception of immediate relief operations like shelters and food banks,” a statement from that agency said in a statement.

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The agency suspended immigration-related arrests as Hurricane Harvey approached southeastern Texas last month, saying that their immediate priority was to “promote life-saving and life-sustaining activities,” according to a statement then.

During that time, more than 200 officers from the agency were sent to help with relief efforts. Those agents were likely to instil a degree of fear for undocumented immigrants in the area, as the Trump administration has arrested more than 6,200 immigrants in the area since Mr Trump took office. In response, federal, state, and local officials urged the 600,000 immigrants in the Houston to seek aid if they needed it. They promised no repercussions for doing so.

Those urgings reportedly weren’t enough to convince people to seek shelter and aid. Many people stayed at home, according to the Houston Chronicle, choosing to ride out the risk of devastating floods instead of opening themselves up to the potential for deportation.

Shape Created with Sketch. The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey Show all 19 left Created with Sketch. right Created with Sketch. Shape Created with Sketch. The aftermath of Hurricane Harvey 1/19 A tattered U.S. flag damaged in Hurricane Harvey, flies in Conroe, Texas Reuters 2/19 Lisa Rehr holds her four-year old son Maximus, after they lost their home to Hurricane Harvey, as they await to be evacuated with their belongings from Rockport, Texas Reuters 3/19 People line up for food as others rest at the George R. Brown Convention Center AP Photo/LM Otero 4/19 Volunteers with The American Red Cross register evacuees at the George R. Brown Convention Center Reuters/Nick Oxford 5/19 Soldiers with the Texas Army National Guard help the residents of Cyprus Creek Reuters 6/19 Residents wade through floodwater Reuters/Nick Oxford 7/19 Residents walk along the flooded roadway of Texas 249 as they evacuate their adjacent neighborhoods EPA 8/19 A man floats past a truck submerged on a freeway flooded by Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday AP 9/19 People are rescued by airboat as they evacuate from flood waters from Hurricane Harvey in Dickinson, Texas Reuters 10/19 James Archiable carries his bike through the flooded intersection at Taylor and Usenet near downtown Houston, Texas EPA 11/19 A massive sinkhole opened up on a motorway in Rosenburg, a city 25 miles southwest of Houston, Texas Rosenberg Police 12/19 People are rescued from flood waters from Hurricane Harvey in an armored police mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle in Dickinson, Texas Reuters 13/19 People are rescued from flood waters from Hurricane Harvey on a boat in Dickinson, Texas Reuters 14/19 Evacuees are airlifted in a US Coast Guard helicopter after flooding due to Hurricane Harvey inundated neighborhoods in Houston, Texas Reuters 15/19 Evacuees leave a US Coast Guard helicopter after being rescued from flooding due to Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas Reuters 16/19 Residents look on at a submerged motorway during a break in the rain in Houston, Texas EPA 17/19 People photograph the submerged motorway interchange EPA 18/19 Debris lies on the ground after a building was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey in Aransas Pass, Texas AP 19/19 Dominic Dominguez searches for his boat in a boat storage facility that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Harvey near Rockport, Texas EPA 1/19 A tattered U.S. flag damaged in Hurricane Harvey, flies in Conroe, Texas Reuters 2/19 Lisa Rehr holds her four-year old son Maximus, after they lost their home to Hurricane Harvey, as they await to be evacuated with their belongings from Rockport, Texas Reuters 3/19 People line up for food as others rest at the George R. Brown Convention Center AP Photo/LM Otero 4/19 Volunteers with The American Red Cross register evacuees at the George R. Brown Convention Center Reuters/Nick Oxford 5/19 Soldiers with the Texas Army National Guard help the residents of Cyprus Creek Reuters 6/19 Residents wade through floodwater Reuters/Nick Oxford 7/19 Residents walk along the flooded roadway of Texas 249 as they evacuate their adjacent neighborhoods EPA 8/19 A man floats past a truck submerged on a freeway flooded by Tropical Storm Harvey on Sunday AP 9/19 People are rescued by airboat as they evacuate from flood waters from Hurricane Harvey in Dickinson, Texas Reuters 10/19 James Archiable carries his bike through the flooded intersection at Taylor and Usenet near downtown Houston, Texas EPA 11/19 A massive sinkhole opened up on a motorway in Rosenburg, a city 25 miles southwest of Houston, Texas Rosenberg Police 12/19 People are rescued from flood waters from Hurricane Harvey in an armored police mine-resistant ambush protected vehicle in Dickinson, Texas Reuters 13/19 People are rescued from flood waters from Hurricane Harvey on a boat in Dickinson, Texas Reuters 14/19 Evacuees are airlifted in a US Coast Guard helicopter after flooding due to Hurricane Harvey inundated neighborhoods in Houston, Texas Reuters 15/19 Evacuees leave a US Coast Guard helicopter after being rescued from flooding due to Hurricane Harvey in Houston, Texas Reuters 16/19 Residents look on at a submerged motorway during a break in the rain in Houston, Texas EPA 17/19 People photograph the submerged motorway interchange EPA 18/19 Debris lies on the ground after a building was destroyed by Hurricane Harvey in Aransas Pass, Texas AP 19/19 Dominic Dominguez searches for his boat in a boat storage facility that was heavily damaged by Hurricane Harvey near Rockport, Texas EPA

With so many people staying home, some advocates said that the situation became dire. It’s “a real crisis,” Cesar Espinosa, the executive director of the immigrant advocacy group FIEL Houston, said.

Mr Trump vowed during the 2016 campaign to immediately deport people who are in the United States illegally, in spite of expert claims that it would be incredibly difficult if not impossible to do so logistically. After the President took office earlier this year, he directed his immigration agency to begin working on his goal of meeting 2 to 3 million undocumented immigrants.

In spite of that effort, deportations in the Trump era were lower during the first six months of the year compared to the past several years when Barack Obama was president.

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