Trump administration throws out policies limiting migrant arrests at sensitive spots like churches

A sign that prohibits the entrance of ICE or Homeland Security is posted on a door at St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church in New York, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

WASHINGTON — Officers enforcing immigration laws will now be able to arrest migrants at sensitive locations like schools and churches after the Trump administration threw out policies limiting where those arrests could happen as the new president seeks to make good on campaign promises to carry out mass deportations.

The move announced Tuesday reverses guidance that for over a decade has restricted two key federal immigration agencies — Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection — from carrying out immigration enforcement in sensitive locations.

“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 Department of Homeland Security said in a statement Tuesday.

The department said Acting Secretary Benjamine Huffman issued the directive Monday.

The ICE guidance dates back to 2011. Customs and Border Protection issued similar guidance in 2013.

Trump has made cracking down on immigration a top priority, just as he did during his first term in the White House from 2017 to 2021. On Monday he signed a slew of executive actions that included cutting off access to an app that facilitated the entry of hundreds of thousands of migrants; suspending the refugee system; and promoting greater cooperation between ICE and local and state governments.

He has often portrayed his efforts as unleashing the ability of ICE agents and others in immigration enforcement from Biden-era guidelines that he said restricted their efforts to find and remove people who no longer have the authority to remain in the country.

The announcement Tuesday had been expected as Trump works to deliver on his campaign promise to carry out mass deportations of anyone in the country illegally. But it was still jarring for advocates who have argued that raising the prospect of deportation at churches, schools or hospitals can prevent migrants from getting medical attention or allowing their children to attend school.

“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.

“Should ICE presence near such locations become more common, the likelihood also increases that children could witness a parent’s detention, arrest, or other encounters with ICE agents,” Golden said.

Under the “sensitive locations” guidance, officers were generally required to get approval for any enforcement operations at those locations, although exceptions were allowed for things like national security.

Trump kept the guidance on sensitive locations in place during his first administration although he did remove similar guidance that restricted immigration enforcement at courthouses. That courthouse guidance was put in place once again during the Biden administration, which also issued its own update to the “sensitive locations” guidance limiting where ICE and CBP officers could carry out immigration enforcement.

Many schools around the country have been preparing for just this eventuality by reaching out to immigrant families and local law enforcement.

In California, officials have offered guidance to schools on state law limiting local participation in immigration enforcement.

“Our policy is clear and strong that immigration enforcement is not allowed on our campuses unless forced through a valid court order,” said Diana Diaz, spokeswoman for the Fresno Unified School District, one of the largest in California. “We’ve been in communication with local law enforcement who has assured us that they will not be supporting immigration enforcement across any of our schools.”

A resolution passed by Chicago Public Schools’ Board of Education in November said schools would not assist ICE in enforcing immigration law. Agents would not be allowed into schools without a criminal warrant, it said.

Over the years dozens of migrants have sought sanctuary in churches for immigration-related reasons, sometimes staying for weeks at a time to evade ICE capture.

A 2018 story by The Associated Press detailed how since 2014, at least 70 publicly known cases have emerged of people seeking sanctuary in churches for immigration-related reasons, according to Church World Service, a New York organization that supports the sanctuary efforts. Of those, 51 came up since Trump took office in January 2017 and pledged a harder line on immigration.

Rebecca Santana, The Associated Press