‘I don’t sleep:’ US immigrant communities brace for Trump crackdown | Donald Trump News

The administration of United States President Donald Trump has rolled back a decade-old policy that prohibited immigration authorities from making arrests at sensitive locations, including schools, churches and hospitals.

As the repercussions of the move set in on Wednesday, many of those living without documentation in the US expressed fears about the effects it would have on the few aspects of life where they felt secure.

“I don’t sleep,” Iris Gonzalez told The Associated Press news agency from Boston, Massachusetts, where her children have attended school for a decade.

Gonzalez, who came to the US from Guatemala 14 years ago, wondered what will happen if she comes into contact with immigration authorities while attending a court hearing or driving.

“What if they stop me?” she said.

She also questioned whether she should continue to look for work under the new administration. Still, she was adamant that her children would continue to go to school, where she hoped they would be safe.

“Education is important,” she told the news agency in Spanish.

‘Devastating consequences’

Gonzalez’s story underscores the daily negotiations of those seeking to avoid possible immigration enforcement under Trump, whose political comeback has been predicated on a pledge to undertake “mass deportations” and limit immigration into the US.

His first days in office have been defined by a slew of executive orders and actions related to immigration enforcement. That has included declaring a national emergency at the US border to surge personnel and resources there, laying the groundwork for expedited deportations, and suspending the CBP One application upon which thousands of asylum seekers were relying for appointments.

Trump has also sought to end so-called birthright citizenship, a move that has already been challenged in court by state officials and rights groups.

And on Tuesday, the second day of Trump’s second term, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced it had ended the policy of avoiding immigration raids on “sensitive” locations.

The shift largely affects two agencies: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), both of which had guidance barring enforcement at places like medical centres.

So far, no major immigration enforcements have been reported in the US since Trump took office, but speaking to reporters on Monday, the incoming president said it was only a matter of time.

“I don’t want to say when, but it’s going to happen. It has to happen, or we’re not going to have a country left,” he said.

Rights groups, meanwhile, have spent the weeks since Trump’s November 5 election victory holding trainings with community groups on how best to respond to the forthcoming crackdown.

Many condemned the Department of Homeland Security’s policy shift as setting a dangerous precedent, noting the “sensitive location” policy was designed to assure that those living in the country without documentation were able to access basic services.

“This action could have devastating consequences for immigrant families and their children, including US citizen children, deterring them from receiving medical attention, seeking out disaster relief, attending school, and carrying out everyday activities,” Olivia Golden, the interim executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy, said in a statement.

“Should ICE presence near such locations become more common, the likelihood also increases that children could witness a parent’s detention, arrest, or other encounters with ICE agents,” Golden said.

‘I can’t imagine why they would do that’

For its part, in a statement announcing the policy change, the Department of Homeland Security claimed that “criminals” used sensitive locations to avoid arrest, without providing data to back up the claim.

“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the statement said.

“The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”

In another sign that Trump is seeking to roll back safeguards for undocumented communities, the Department of Justice has also begun directing its federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who stand in the way of increased federal immigration enforcement, according to a memo obtained by The Associated Press on Wednesday.

The move is an apparent salvo against so-called “sanctuary” jurisdictions, where local officials instruct the law enforcement under their control not to coordinate with federal immigration agents.

The Justice Department memo also called for federal prosecutors to return to the practice of charging defendants with the most serious crime it can prove, limiting a prosecutor’s discretion in those cases.

Responding to the Trump administration’s shift on “sensitive” locations, Carmen, an immigrant from Mexico, was incredulous.

“Oh, dead God!” she told The Associated Press. “I can’t imagine why they would do that.”

Still, Carmen said she had faith that her local San Francisco Bay Area school system would inform her if it became unsafe for her to bring her four-year-old and six-year-old grandchildren to school.

“What has helped calm my nerves is knowing that the school stands with us and promised to inform us if it’s not safe at school,” said Carmen, who asked her last name not be used for fear of being targeted by immigration agents.