McALLEN, Texas—Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff made it clear that federal border agents will not impede a hurricane evacuation from South Texas by checking fleeing residents’ documents, diverting from plans confirmed by Border Patrol officials in Texas only days earlier.

Speaking at a hurricane preparedness gathering at FEMA headquarters Tuesday, Chertoff said he wanted to “drive a stake through the heart of a misapprehension which is out there.”

“In the event of an emergency, and the need for an evacuation, priority number one by a country mile is the safe evacuation of people who are leaving the danger zone,” Chertoff said. “Instructions to the Border Patrol and Customs and Border Protection are clear. They are to do nothing to impede a safe and speedy evacuation of a danger zone.”

Texas officials had reacted with concern when Border Patrol officials along the U.S.-Mexico border in South Texas said last week that checkpoints 75 miles north of the U.S.-Mexico border would remain open during a hurricane evacuation.

Local emergency management officials feared the checkpoints could become bottlenecks for traffic fleeing the coast and low-lying Rio Grande Valley, dissuading illegal residents or those with undocumented family members from heading to safety.

“Now, obviously the laws dont get suspended, but it does mean that our priorities are to make sure we can move traffic along quickly,” Chertoff said. The policy clarification continued locally Wednesday when Ronald Vitiello, chief of the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector, released a letter echoing Chertoff’s remarks.

“Our primary role in such events will be the safeguarding of life,” the letter said. “No enforcement role will be undertaken that will in any way impede the safe and orderly evacuation of any member of the south Texas population.”

A spokeswoman for Texas Gov. Rick Perry, termed the idea of operating the checkpoints in a hurricane “nonsensical” and said the state was pleased to be back on the same page with the federal government.

“Gov. Perry spoke with officials with the U.S. Border Patrol and received assurances that, while patrolmen will always have a presence to ensure criminals do not try to take exploit an emergency situation, they will not stop people fleeing from harm’s way,” said Krista Piferrer.