The U.S. government adds "sensitive locations": prohibits the arrest of immigrants in these places

Source: China News Network

According to the US Chinese Network, on the 27th, US Homeland Security Secretary Majorcas expanded the list of "sensitive locations" that do not allow law enforcement officials to arrest immigrants.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials and other immigration officials have long been barred from making arrests in schools and hospitals. But Majorcas's memorandum extends the concept to a broader category of social services, directing all NSA agencies to avoid arrests at domestic violence shelters, food banks, consultancies and disaster response centers.

The memorandum also prohibits arrests in churches, assemblies, demonstrations or processions.

"We can accomplish our law enforcement tasks without denying or restricting individuals' access to the health care they need, children's access to school, displaced people's access to food and shelter, access to places of worship for believers, and so on." Majorcas wrote in the memo.

He stressed the need for subordinate agencies to consider the broader potential impact of the arrests.

"If we take action in emergency shelters, then non-citizens, including children, may feel hesitant to travel to the shelters and receive the food and water they need, emergency medical care or other humanitarian assistance." Majorcas said.

The memo, which aligns with several recent orders by Majorcas, gives officials a great deal of discretion in how they work. Majorcas wrote a memo in June that gave immigration prosecutors more discretion, allowing them to drop cases deemed low priority.

The Biden administration has also sought more broadly to focus immigration enforcement efforts on those it deems to have serious criminal records.

Majorcas noted that the list of "law enforcement exclusion zones" is not exhaustive and encouraged officials to weigh "the importance of these [venues]'s activities to the well-being of people and the communities to which they belong, and whether enforcement actions affect people's willingness to enter these places and receive or participate in basic services or activities." ”

The memo also sought to refine existing protective measures to prevent arrests in schools, with Majorcas writing that playgrounds, daycare centers and bus stops were also prohibited.

The memorandum states that exceptions may be made in cases involving national security situations, or where there is an imminent threat of violence, or where "there is no other safe alternative". But officials need to seek approval before making arrests at sensitive locations.

Previously, Majorcas also suspended raids in the workplace with the aim of shifting the focus of enforcement to employers who violate the law, rather than individual employees.