Trump Grants ICE Access to Sacred Spaces

According to NBC News, the incoming administration plans to reverse laws that limit immigration enforcement operations in sensitive locations like hospitals, schools, and places of worship, as well as the neighborhoods around them, in order to fulfill Trump’s pledge to deport more than 11 million undocumented immigrants. Nearly six immigrants’ rights advocates in four states who were interviewed by NBC News all reported that they have seen a rise in the number of calls from immigrants inquiring about their rights. Churches, schools, and community organizations have also questioned them about their responsibilities in light of these possibilities. The groups and advocates are responding by holding know-your-rights trainings and assisting families who are at risk in creating plans of action in the event that an undocumented relative is unexpectedly detained or deported. Families in Florida are receiving assistance from the Hope Community Center in creating a plan. Redacting guardianships or power-of-attorney documents that specify who will care for the children left behind in the event that an undocumented parent is apprehended by immigration officials is part of the plan.

The same is being done in Phoenix, Arizona, by Jose Patiño, vice president of education and external affairs at the advocacy group Aliento, with its “family packets.” According to Patiño, it is crucial for families to establish legal guardianship over any assets and bank accounts so that the surviving family members can access them in the event that the primary provider is arrested or deported. One of the top refugee resettlement organizations and Texas’ largest provider of immigration legal services, RAICES, has declared that it is “ready to challenge any presidential actions that threaten equitable access to the legal and human right to seek safety in the U.S.” There may be legal grounds for a challenge if the Trump administration rescinds the policy that limits immigration enforcement actions on sensiti