For more than a decade, US immigration agencies such as ICE and CBP have refrained from raiding facilities that provide essential services, such as hospitals.
The administration of the new President of the United States, Donald Trump, has repealed long-standing protections against shootings at schools, hospitals, churches and other “hard areas”.
The to announce Tuesday comes as part of Trump's efforts to fulfill a campaign promise to establish a “mass deportation” campaign.
According to government estimates, about 11 million undocumented people live in the United States, many of whom are the cornerstones of their families and communities.
For more than a decade, government agencies have issued guidance against forced immigration into places like schools and hospitals, arguing that such attacks can discourage people from seeking needed help.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) implemented its policy in 2011. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) followed suit in 2013.
But in a statement on Tuesday, the Trump administration criticized the directive for “obstructing enforcement”.
It created a new guideline, removing protections, as a way to give more power to immigration agencies.
“Terrorists will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the document said. “The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave police officers, instead trusting them to use common sense.”
Trump has always linked illegal immigration to crime. At the conference last year, he repeatedly pointed to examples like that of Laken Riley, the 22-year-old student who was allegedly killed by an undocumented immigrant.
He has used it again dehumanizing language about refugees and asylum seekers.
“The Democrats say, 'Please don't call them animals. They're people.' I said, 'No, they're not people. They're animals,'” he said in April, referring to Riley's case.
Education, however again and again that undocumented immigrants commit far fewer crimes than natural-born citizens of the United States.
Human rights groups have warned that Tuesday's decision could force undocumented immigrants, including children, to become vulnerable, leaving behind essential jobs.
“These actions can have a negative impact on immigrant families and their children, including children of US citizens, preventing them from accessing health care, seeking help in a disaster, attending school, and going about their daily activities,” the Center for Law and Social Policy said. words.