U.S. immigration officials will now have the authority to detain migrants within schools, places of worship, and medical facilities following the reversal of policies by the Trump administration that previously prohibited immigration enforcement in so-called “sensitive zones.”
For over ten years, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection faced limitations on this front.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security, which supervises both ICE and CBP, released a statement declaring: “Criminals will henceforth no longer find refuge in America’s educational institutions and places of worship to elude capture.
“The Trump Administration refuses to restrict the efforts of our courageous law enforcement and instead relies on their judgment to make sensible decisions.”
This directive was one of two announced on Tuesday, January 21, by Benjamine Huffman, the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security.
The second directive reinstates the so-called “expedited removal” policy nationwide immediately. Through this authority, ICE can swiftly deport any undocumented individual apprehended in the country who cannot demonstrate continuous residence for over two years.
These modifications unfold as Donald Trump’s administration implements a significant crackdown on immigration in the U.S. The president enacted a series of executive actions on Monday, January 20, which included severing access to an application that had facilitated the entry of hundreds of thousands of individuals, as well as halting the refugee program and encouraging increased collaboration between ICE and local and state authorities.
Administration representatives pledged to commence immediate efforts to round up those residing in the U.S. illegally, part of the president’s commitment to executing “mass deportations.” Trump’s border chief, Tom Homan, stated in an interview late on Monday that immigration agents would be deployed across the United States on Tuesday to apprehend and deport undocumented individuals.
He did not disclose the locations of these operations.
“They’re going to operate throughout the nation. We possess offices nationwide, and every ICE officer will be engaging in law enforcement starting tomorrow morning,” Homan remarked.
Advocates cautioned that the Trump administration’s decision to allow arrests in sensitive venues will lead to detrimental consequences.