The Trump administration is rejecting Biden-era guidance on immigration arrests in sensitive areas
US President Donald Trump's administration announced on Tuesday that it had withdrawn Biden-era guidance that limited federal immigration arrests near sensitive locations, including schools, hospitals and churches.
Acting US Homeland Security Secretary Benjamin Huffman rescinded the order on Monday, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said.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 restrictive order the use of “parole”. that former US President Joe Biden employed to allow hundreds of thousands of migrants to enter the US legally on a temporary basis.
Republican Trump published a series of executive orders Monday, aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration and advancing his goal of deporting millions of illegal immigrants to the US.
The Biden administration issued guidance in 2021 that limited immigration enforcement near “protected areas,” replacing similar enforcement rules from 2011 and 2013.
US President Donald Trump launched his sweeping crackdown on immigration on Monday, ordering the US military to support border security, imposing a broad asylum ban and taking steps to limit the citizenship of children born on US soil.
It remained unclear whether federal immigration officers and border enforcement agents would return to the old guidance.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest,” DHS said in a statement.
Schools, hospitals and churches across the country have raised concerns about Trump's mass deportation initiative, with some developing their own plans for how to respond.
On Monday, Trump rolled back existing guidelines for US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents 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 anyone without legal status could be arrested.
