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Trump Administration Rescinds Limits on ICE Arrests in Schools and Churches, Orders Parole Review

Jan 21, 2025, 09:23 PM

President Donald Trump's administration has rescinded a 2021 policy that restricted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from making arrests in or near sensitive locations such as schools, churches, and hospitals. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a memo late last night reversing the guidelines established by former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, effective immediately. The new directive permits ICE agents to carry out enforcement actions in these previously protected areas, advising officers to use 'common sense' in conducting their duties. ICE agents say this change will allow them to detain and deport more undocumented immigrants, effectively letting the 'gloves come off.' Additionally, the DHS memo orders a review of the use of humanitarian parole to admit migrants. The policy shift marks a departure from longstanding practices that avoided arrests in sensitive locations, aiming to enhance immigration enforcement by removing limitations that agents said hindered their ability to perform their duties.