A tent camp that had been established underneath U.S. Expressway 77/83 near 12th Street for about a week is gone.
The city’s Public Health Department and Brownsville police advised the people camping underneath the expressway that they were in violation of a state law and had to leave, said Brownsville City Manager Noel Bernal.
On Friday all that was visible at what once was a campsite were discarded belongs and bits of trash.
The law Bernal is referring to is House Bill 1925, which banned homeless camping in Texas. The law took effect Sept. 1, 2021. Under HB 1925, people who violate the law can be fined up to $500 if they camp in a public place.
The law defines camping as living in a temporary shelter such as a tent, sleeping bag, bedroll blanket or any other form of shelter other than clothing.
It also states that individuals can only camp if the camping is for recreational purposes or the property has been approved for sheltering those experiencing homelessness.
“This is the first step the city has had to deal with in making sure that we are being statutorily compliant,” the city manager said.
Bernal said city officials are familiar with the group of people who were at the camp since they had been moving around the city including staying at Edelstein Park on 12th Street. He said the group had been assisted by city services such as the Brownsville Police Department.
“They located at one point in different public areas but not with tents, at times panhandling and things of that sort and they have been at one of our parks…so they have been at different underpasses, one of our parks and every time they have been monitored,” he said.
What’s different now is that the group decided to set up tents which violate state law, and if the city knowingly violates the state law, it could lose state grant funding.
Bernal said non-profit organizations had stepped in to offer assistance to the camp members by offering them a place to stay and a place to have a warm meal.
“We want to be facilitators, but if they opt not to receive the services then the city has a duty, our police department has the ability and duty to remove them from a public area,” he said.
Bernal said the city would inform the individuals setting up the camps about the state law and explain the violations to them.
The Brownsville Fire Department had been called out to the camp on March 9 in reference to a fire that was spotted underneath the expressway, said Brownsville Fire Chief Jarrett Sheldon. A homeless person at the camp had started a fire in the barbecue pit to stay warm, Brownsville police told the fire department.
By the time firefighters arrived at the location, someone had extinguished the fire, Sheldon stated.
