U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration announced Tuesday that it had rolled back Biden-era policies that limited federal detentions of immigrants near sensitive locations such as schools, hospitals and churches.
Acting US Secretary of Homeland Security Benjamine Huffman lifted the order on Monday, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said. Huffman also issued a directive that limited the use of “probationary sanctions” that former U.S. President Joe Biden used to allow hundreds of thousands of migrants to temporarily enter the U.S. legally.
Trump, a Republican, issued a series of executive orders on Monday aimed at cracking down on illegal immigration and advancing his goal of deporting millions of immigrants in the U.S. illegally.
Biden’s administration issued guidance in 2021 that limited immigration enforcement near so-called “sanctuary areas,” replacing similar enforcement rules from 2011 and 2013.
US President Donald Trump launched his comprehensive crackdown on immigration policy on Monday. He tasked the U.S. military with helping with border security, enacted a sweeping ban on asylum and took steps to restrict citizenship for children born on U.S. soil.
It remained unclear whether federal immigration officials and border officials 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 about Trump’s mass deportation initiative, and some have drawn up their own plans to respond.
Trump on Monday rolled back existing U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) policies that prioritized serious criminals and expanded the scope of their enforcement, including targeting final deportation orders at migrants.
Trump’s border czar Tom Homan said ICE would focus on pursuing serious criminals, but anyone without legal status could be arrested.
