This statement can be attributed to Olivia Golden, interim executive director of the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP)

Washington, D.C., January 21, 2025 – Today, the Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman issued a press statement regarding a directive published yesterday rescinding the protected areas policy. This policy has been in place in various forms since 2011. It has limited Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Patrol activities in and near hospitals, schools, child care centers, houses of worship, food pantries, homeless and domestic violence shelters, disaster relief efforts, and other places that provide essential services. The directive ends the limitation and allows immigration enforcement agents to carry out actions in such locations constrained only by their interpretation of “common sense.”

This action could have devastating consequences for immigrant families and their children, including U.S. citizen children, deterring them from receiving medical attention, seeking out disaster relief, attending school, and carrying out everyday activities. Without the policy in place, immigration agents will be able to carry out enforcement actions in such places, which our own research has shown can result in arrests near child care programs and schools. 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. Such exposure can harm children’s mental and physical health and negatively impact their long-term development.

This action may also have serious consequences for the health and well-being of educators and other providers who themselves are immigrants, including 1 in 5 early care and education providers. During the first Trump Administration, these providers reported being overwhelmed by the impact of anti-immigration rhetoric, the constant change in immigration policies, and heightened stress. Providers who were immigrants had additional concerns about their own families’ well-being.

Ending the protected areas policy also has a destabilizing effect on entire communities. Children who witness threats to their classmates, parents, teachers, and care providers may not be able to thrive and meet developmental milestones. Many places that families and children rely on for community and friendship, such as schools, Head Start centers, child care programs, and places of worship, could suddenly become targets, leaving the community as a whole traumatized and paralyzed by the threats of immigration enforcement. Compromising access to these supports in the midst of an onslaught of other immigration policies serves to only further undermine the safety and well-being of immigrant families and communities. And when some of us are not comfortable seeking out health care, we all are less healthy.

CLASP has worked for years to advocate for state and national policies that ensure people are able to access the supports and services they need to thrive. We have also created materials for child care providers, early childhood educators, and schools, no matter the political climate. We urge early childhood providers to consult our resource guide for ways to keep their centers as protected as possible from immigration enforcement, stay informed about their rights, and avoid giving in to the intimidation inherent in these efforts.  We also call on Congress to pass federal legislation to codify the protected areas policy, and we urge state and local policymakers to consider legislation and other policies to restrict immigration enforcement actions in these critical places.