Trump administration to allow ICE and CBP raids in schools and churches

The Trump administration has overturned longstanding policies that limited immigration enforcement in sensitive locations, such as schools and churches. This policy change enables officers to arrest undocumented individuals in these areas, with the objective of strengthening immigration law enforcement.

The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday it would roll back the policy to "thwart law enforcement in or near so-called sensitive areas."

Originally implemented in 2011, the directive prevented Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers from detaining suspected undocumented immigrants in a range of locations.

The following statement is attributable to a DHS spokesperson:

“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens—including murderers and rapists—who have illegally come into our country. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement and instead trusts them to use common sense,” the statement said.

“The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country. This was all stopped on day one of the Trump Administration. This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis.”

Trump has prioritized cracking down on immigration, maintaining the same approach he took during his first term in office from 2017 to 2021. Just in his first two days in office, he has signed an executive order to end birthright citizenship, shut down an app that facilitated the entry of hundreds of thousands of migrants and suspended the refugee system.

“This action could have devastating consequences for immigrant families and their children, including U.S. citizen children, deterring them from receiving medical attention, seeking out disaster relief, attending school, and carrying out everyday activities,” Olivia Golden, interim executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy, said in a statement.

Many schools across the country have been preparing for this scenario by engaging with immigrant families and local law enforcement. They have also been posting Know Your Rights information at schools.