President Donald Trump’s administration has reversed a decade-old policy that barred immigration authorities from making arrests in sensitive locations such as schools, churches and hospitals.
As the move began to take effect Wednesday, many people living without documents in the United States expressed concern that some aspects of their secure lives would be affected.
“I can’t sleep,” Iris Gonzalez told The Associated Press from Boston, Massachusetts, where her children have attended the school for 10 years.
Mr. Gonzalez, who came to the United States from Guatemala 14 years ago, wondered what would happen if he came into contact with immigration authorities during a court hearing or while driving.
“What if I get stopped?” she said.
She also questioned whether she should continue looking for work under the new administration. Still, she was adamant that her children stay in school and wanted them to be safe.
“Education is important,” she told the news agency in Spanish.
“Devastating results”
Gonzalez’s story highlights the daily negotiations people are making to avoid potential immigration enforcement under the Trump administration. President Trump’s political comeback is predicated on his promise to implement “mass deportations” and limit immigration to the United States.
His first day in office was marked by a number of executive orders and actions related to immigration enforcement. This included declaring a national emergency at the U.S. border to increase local personnel and resources, laying the groundwork for expedited deportations, and CBP One, where thousands of asylum seekers relied on reservations. This includes suspending the application.
President Trump is also seeking to abolish so-called birthright citizenship, a move that has already been challenged in court by state officials and rights groups.
And on Tuesday, the second day of President Trump’s second term, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it was ending a policy to avoid raids on migrants in “sensitive” locations.
The change primarily affected two agencies, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), both of which had guidelines prohibiting enforcement at places such as medical centers. .
So far, no large-scale immigration enforcement actions have been reported in the United States since President Trump took office, but the president-elect told reporters on Monday that it was only a matter of time.
“I don’t want to say when, but it will happen. It has to happen, otherwise there will be no country left,” he said.
Rights groups, meanwhile, have spent the weeks since Trump’s November 5 election victory training with community groups on how best to respond to future crackdowns.
Many have criticized the Department of Homeland Security’s policy shift for setting a dangerous precedent, with the “sensitive areas” policy restricting people living in the country without documentation from accessing basic services. He pointed out that it is designed to guarantee.
“This action will have devastating consequences for immigrant families and their children, including children who are U.S. citizens, and will prevent them from receiving medical care or seeking disaster relief,” said Olivia Golden, the group’s interim executive director. “It can interfere with people’s ability to attend school and carry out daily activities.” The Center for Law and Social Policy said in a statement.
“As ICE presence near such locations becomes more common, the likelihood that children will witness a parent’s detention, arrest, or other encounter with ICE agents also increases,” Golden said. .
“I can’t imagine why they would do that.”
Meanwhile, in a statement announcing the policy change, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that “criminals” used sensitive locations to avoid arrest, but provided no data to support that claim.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to evade arrest,” the statement said.
“The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement and trusts them to use common sense.”
In another sign that President Trump is seeking to roll back protections for undocumented communities, the Justice Department has also directed federal prosecutors to investigate state and local officials who stand in the way of increased federal immigration enforcement. According to a memo obtained by The Paper. Associated Press on Wednesday.
The move is an apparent salvo against so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions, where local officials instruct law enforcement agencies under their jurisdiction not to work with federal immigration authorities.
The Justice Department memo also called on federal prosecutors to return to the practice of charging defendants with the most serious crimes they can prove and to limit prosecutorial discretion in such cases.
Carmen, an immigrant from Mexico, was in disbelief as the Trump administration changed its policy on “sensitive” places.
“Oh, dead God!” she told The Associated Press. “I can’t imagine why they would do that.”
Still, Carmen said she trusts her local San Francisco Bay Area school system to notify her if it becomes unsafe to take her grandchildren, ages 4 and 6, to school.
“What helped ease my nerves was knowing that the school supported us and promised to let us know if the school wasn’t safe,” Carmen said. Carmen asked that her last name not be used for fear of being targeted by immigration officials.