This new policy change involving Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, announced on the second day of the new Trump Administration on Tuesday, Jan/ 21 by Acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman and represents a significant shift from long-standing guidelines.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest," Huffman said in a statement. "The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,”
The new directive reverses policies from 2011 and the Biden administration that restricted ICE operations in sensitive locations. Critics express concern that this shift could instill fear in immigrant communities, potentially discouraging children from attending school and individuals from seeking medical care.
Additionally, the administration plans to phase out parole programs that allowed certain migrants to live and work temporarily in the United States. Republicans have accused the Biden administration of misusing this program, which will now revert to a case-by-case evaluation.
“The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country," Huffman's statement said. "This was all stopped on day one of the Trump Administration. This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis,”
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