The Trump administration is abandoning Biden-era guidelines for arresting immigrants in sensitive areas
US President Donald Trump’s administration announced on Tuesday that it had reversed Biden-era guidelines that limited federal immigration arrests near sensitive locations, including schools, hospitals and churches.
Acting US Homeland Security Secretary Benjamin Huffman rescinded the order on Monday, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said. Huffman also issued a limiting directive use of “suspended sentence” which former US President Joe Biden hired to allow hundreds of thousands of migrants legal temporary entry into the US.
issued by Republican Trump a series of executable commands on Monday aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration and furthering his goal of deporting millions of illegal immigrants in the US.
The Biden administration issued guidance in 2021 limiting immigration enforcement near what it called “protected areas,” replacing similar enforcement rules in 2011 and 2013.
US President Donald Trump began his sweeping immigration crackdown on Monday, tasking the US military to help with border security, issuing a sweeping asylum ban and taking steps to limit citizenship for children born on US soil.
It remained unclear whether federal immigration officials and border agents would return to the older guidelines.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the DHS said in a statement.
Schools, hospitals and churches across the country have expressed concern over Trump’s mass deportation initiative, and some have drawn up their own plans to respond.
On Monday, Trump reversed existing guidelines for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials that prioritized serious criminals and expanded the scope of their enforcement, including targeting migrants with final deportation orders.
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said ICE would focus on going after serious criminals, but that anyone without legal status could be arrested.
