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The Trump administration says churches and schools in the U.S. are no longer off limits to federal agents rounding up migrants without legal status. Homeland Security officials say the Biden-era policy made it easier for migrants with criminal records to hide from law enforcement. But critics say the change will make it harder for many migrant families to worship and send their kids to school. NPR's Brian Mann reports.
BRIAN MANN, BYLINE: When Hugo Soto-Martinez heard the Trump administration had canceled a federal guideline sheltering churches and schools from immigration raids, he thought of his own family.
HUGO SOTO-MARTINEZ: My parents would be labeled as criminals when I was growing up, when they were dropping me off to school or taking me to church.
MANN: Soto-Martinez is a councilmember in Los Angeles whose parents didn't have legal status in the U.S. He cosponsored a measure last year that prevents city agencies, including the LA school district, from aiding federal immigration agents. He says this move by the Trump administration is already causing fear.
SOTO-MARTINEZ: He's getting what he wants, and that's, you know, making people feel very afraid, especially in the areas where they know they are usually with their family. And I think it's completely despicable.
MANN: In a statement explaining the change, the Department of Homeland Security said the Biden administration's decision to classify certain areas as sensitive and off limits to DHS enforcement allowed migrants, quote, "including murderers and rapists" to avoid arrest. Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches, the statement reads. Bishop Matthew Heyd, head of the Episcopal Diocese of New York, says he knows of no cases where his churches have been exploited by criminals.
MATTHEW HEYD: No. I'd invite them to give an example of that anywhere in the United States and certainly in New York.
MANN: Bishop Heyd described churches as safe spaces where new migrants go for crucial services, including food and shelter.
HEYD: This ministry of sanctuary is central to who we are. Our congregations and our service programs welcome everybody. This is what our faith calls us to do.
MANN: While these changes spark fear and draw criticism, President Trump's moves pressuring migrants who entered the U.S. illegally clearly have support. Jason Mullen is a Trump voter who lives in Staten Island, New York.
JASON MULLEN: I agree with - 100% with that because it's just - they're coming over here, you know, violating, robbing, all this stuff, gangs and all that. Come on. We don't need that in New York.
MANN: In fact, research shows, migrants who don't have legal status are far less likely to commit crimes in the U.S. than American citizens. Ira Mehlman, a supporter of Trump's tighter immigration policies, says he doesn't expect this change to make schools and churches major targets. Mehlman is with the Federation for American Immigration Reform.
IRA MEHLMAN: There's every reason to believe this is going to be used with great discretion and only in circumstances where the person that they're after poses a serious threat to the communities.
MANN: But Hildalyn Colon Hernandez, who heads a group in New York City called New Immigrant Community Empowerment, says this change will drive some migrant families deeper underground.
HILDALYN COLON HERNANDEZ: Removing the protections for churches or schools - those two locations in particular represent something more to families and people because it's the place of gathering. It's a place of worship. But at the same time, I'm not surprised.
MANN: During a press conference this week, New York City Mayor Eric Adams said he spoke with church and immigrant community leaders about the Trump administration's tougher policies, urging them not to panic. He said migrant families should keep using essential services regardless of their legal status.
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ERIC ADAMS: We want to bring down the anxiety. We want our immigrants to know that this is a city of immigrants. This is a country of immigrants. It's imperative that you go to school, use the hospital service, use the police services.
MANN: Some school districts and churches around the U.S. responded to this change in DHS enforcement guidelines by saying they'll refuse to cooperate with migrant arrests, posting notices that immigration police aren't welcome on church or school grounds. Brian Mann, NPR News, New York.
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