ICE Officers Can Now Raid Churches and Hospitals Under New DHS Directive

“This policy has nothing to do with common sense,” immigrant groups and legal services providers react to DHS new directive on raids in sensitive locations.

ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) officers making arrests

The Trump administration has revoked a Biden-era memo prohibiting ICE from making arrests at “sensitive locations” such as schools, churches, hospitals, and shelters, according to a new directive issued by acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman. 

The administration stated it “trusts” ICE to exercise “common sense.”

The Trump administration’s decision to rescind the sensitive locations memo has been received with much criticism from directly impacted community members, including advocates, allies and organizations representing immigrant rights, faith, labor, and criminal legal reform groups. 

This is yet another piece of evidence that they are not serious about common sense policies,” said Camille Mackler, the CEO of Immigrant-ARC, a coalition of immigration legal advocates that works on increasing access to counsel for immigrant New Yorkers. “Instead, they are determined to sow fear and inflict cruelty for no other purpose than advancing a hateful agenda.”

The directive comes after President Donald Trump announced a series of 11 executive orders directly related to immigration on Monday. 

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