You asked, we answered: Border Patrol vs ICE, why name hurricanes?
We’re taking your questions — like whether Border Patrol is part of ICE and why we name hurricanes — and putting them to the test in this week’s Straight From You.
Each week, we take your comments and questions and put them to the test — separating fact from speculation and adding the context you won’t always get in the headlines.
You said:
The question:
Isn’t Border Patrol part of ICE?
SAN answer:
Short answer: No. Border Patrol is not part of ICE. Border Patrol sits inside U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP); ICE is a separate agency. Both are under the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).
Who does what?
- CBP / Border Patrol: Secures the border and areas that function like a border — at and between ports of entry. Border Patrol is a CBP component, and CBP’s statutory reach includes operations within 100 miles of any land border or coastline, though constitutional limits still apply.
- ICE: Enforces immigration law inside the U.S. interior — arrests, detains and removes people after border processing; also runs worksite and criminal investigations.
ICE has two main branches:
- Homeland Security Investigations (HSI): The major-case arm — transnational crime, smuggling, trafficking, cyber and financial crime, illegal technology exports and more.
- Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO): The primary ICE division for immigration apprehension in the interior — locating, arresting, detaining and removing people with immigration violations or final orders.
On the ground, cases can “hand off” between agencies. Someone stopped between ports of entry typically starts in CBP/Border Patrol custody, then — after processing — ICE handles detention and removal. During high-tempo operations, tactics and personnel can appear blended, but CBP and ICE operate independently with different mandates; CBP often conducts broader patrols, while ICE leaders emphasize targeted interior arrests.
Even within the 100-mile zone, agents need reasonable suspicion to detain and probable cause to arrest; you have the right to remain silent, and limitations apply to searches without consent or probable cause. There are exceptions, however. Some nonimmigrant visa holders may be required to show immigration documents if asked.
You said:
The question:
Why do we name hurricanes?
SAN answer:
Hurricanes and tropical storms are given short, distinctive names to avoid confusion and speed up warnings when multiple systems exist at once, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) maintains the rotating lists and retires names tied to catastrophic impacts.
For centuries, storms were labeled by date, place or saint’s day, and U.S. media used descriptors like the Galveston Storm of 1900. In the late 19th century, Australian forecaster Clement Wragge informally named cyclones, and during World War II, U.S. military meteorologists began using women’s names in the Pacific.
A formal women-only naming system started in 1953; advocacy in the 1960s–70s pushed for change, and by 1979, U.S. forecasters and the WMO adopted alternating men’s and women’s names. NOAA says names reduce errors in forecasts and reporting, especially when storms develop simultaneously. Clear, brief names prevent radio or public advisories for one storm from being mistaken for another hundreds of miles away — a problem documented before the 1950s shift to names.
Names are reused unless a storm is so deadly or costly… in those cases, the WMO retires the name. Names linked to major loss of life or high economic damage — such as Katrina (2005) and Andrew (1992) — are permanently retired and replaced on future lists. NOAA notes that if more than 21 tropical cyclones are named in a season, a supplemental list is used.
Keep dropping comments, asking questions and SAN will tackle the biggest ones next week on Straight From You.
The post You asked, we answered: Border Patrol vs ICE, why name hurricanes? appeared first on Straight Arrow News.
Ella Rae Greene, Editor In Chief
