President-elect Trump has major policy change planned for his first day in office which would enable Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to do their jobs. Trump plans on rescinding a policy which prevented ICE from arresting illegal migrants in sensitive places such as houses of worship, schools, hospitals, weddings and in public demonstrations.
Three sources familiar with the plan told NBC News of the plans, wishing to stay anonymous as the plan has not been announced to the public.
Trump ran on the platform idea of launching the “largest deportation operation in American history,” and by rescinding the policy of previous administrations, ICE would be free to make arrests in an effort to speed up the deportation process.
According to Lee Gelernt of the American Civil Liberties Union, “Immigration enforcement has always required a balance. In the past, Presidents of both parties have recognized that merely because it may be lawful to make arrests at hospitals and schools doesn’t mean it’s humane or wise public policy. We don’t want people with contagious diseases too scared to go to the hospital or children going uneducated because of poorly considered deportation policies.”
Trump has stated that ICE agents would be targeting criminal illegal migrants and by removing the sensitive location handcuffs on agents, they would be able to pursue all leads, wasting little time to make arrests. ICE agents were always able to access these sensitive locations but required supervisor approval.
Many agents expressed their desire to remove the policy, acknowledging how it slowed the process down significantly. Also, agents noted that many illegal migrants utilized the sensitive locations as a sanctuary trying to avoid arrest.