Prohibit ICE operations in sensitive locations.
Why it matters
On the first day of the second Trump administration, DHS rescinded longstanding agency policy prohibiting ICE enforcement activities at sensitive locations like schools, churches, and hospitals. Since then, ICE has been observed surveilling, raiding, and making arrests in these locations, instilling panic, chaos, and fear in local communities. People are afraid to visit their doctors. ICE agents camp out in emergency department waiting rooms to apprehend patients as soon as they’re discharged. Schools serving communities with large immigrant populations are experiencing staggering drops in attendance. Students worry that they will return home to find their parents have vanished. ICE lurks in school zones to arrest parents after they have dropped off their children. Classes are cancelled because tear gas has been deployed nearby. People are showing up to their immigration court hearings only to have their cases dismissed at the behest of ICE, who arrests them immediately.
Please introduce legislation to prohibit ICE’s presence in sensitive locations and their vicinity. Sensitive locations include but are not limited to:
Schools (including preschools, daycares, and higher education institutions)
Healthcare facilities
Places of worship
Courthouses (including immigration courts)
Government offices (such as municipal buildings, city halls, and motor vehicle departments)
Social service centers (food banks, shelters)
Libraries
Post offices
Playgrounds
Sensitive events or ceremonies (such as weddings and funerals)