Deportations: Trump Gives Immigration Agents Power To Raid Churches, Schools

The United States immigration authorities have been granted the ability to arrest individuals at schools, churches, and hospitals following President Donald Trump administration’s reversal of policies that previously classified these locations as off-limits for enforcement.

The policy change ends more than a decade of restrictions that protected these “sensitive areas.”

The Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, announced the change in a statement, emphasizing the importance of eliminating spaces where individuals could evade arrest.

“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.

“The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,” the statement said, as reported by foreign media platform, the Guardian on Tuesday.

The new directive, issued by Acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman, also reinstates the use of expedited removal nationwide.

Under this policy, ICE is empowered to quickly deport undocumented individuals who cannot prove they have resided in the United States continuously for more than two years.