Federal Immigration Agents Granted New Authority to Carry Out Enforcement in Sensitive Areas
In a significant departure from long-standing policy, federal immigration authorities will now be allowed to arrest people and carry out enforcement actions in and near sensitive areas such as churches and schools. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman announced the end of two directives, giving agents more authority over whether they carry out enforcement and eliminating a legal pathway for migrants seeking to come to the United States.
Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest, according to a statement from the Trump Administration. The new policy marks a shift away from the approach taken by the Biden administration, which had prioritized avoiding enforcement in sensitive areas to avoid stoking fear in immigrant communities.
The 2011 policy preventing agents from making arrests in sensitive locations will be rescinded, as will the phaseout of parole programs that allowed certain migrants to temporarily live and work in the United States. The new policy will return the humanitarian parole program to a “case-by-case basis,” allowing for more targeted and individualized consideration of migrant cases.
Immigrant advocates have expressed concern over the reversal of these policies, arguing that it will lead to increased fear in immigrant communities and deter people from seeking necessary services, such as healthcare and education. In response, the Trump Administration has argued that the new policies will allow agents to focus on removing those who pose a risk to national security, without being constrained by outdated guidelines.