WASHINGTON — Today, Rep. Raúl M. Grijalva (AZ-07) joined Reps. Adriano Espaillat (NY-13), Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Chuy Garcia (IL-04), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Don Beyer (VA-08), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Delia Ramirez (IL-03), and Senator Blumenthal (CT) in reintroducing the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act. This crucial legislation codifies protections for immigrant communities by ensuring that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) cannot carry out enforcement actions in certain locations such as schools, hospitals, food pantries, churches, domestic violence shelters and other locations that provide essential services to communities.
“Schools, hospitals, churches, and domestic violence shelters should be off-limits to Trump’s onslaught of immigration enforcement actions. It is reprehensible the level of fear this administration is willing to inflict on the most vulnerable members of our communities,” Rep. Grijalva said. “Immigrant families should not have to fear seeking the essential services they are legally entitled to pursue, like medical care, shelter, or education, because of the threat of ICE raids. Now more than ever, we need to pass the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, a bill that would safeguard sensitive locations and uphold the values of compassion, safety and respect for human dignity.”
On January 21, 2025, Acting Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Benjamine Huffman rescinded the protected areas policy, effectively allowing immigration enforcement actions in locations that provide essential services to communities. As the Trump administration increases the number of ICE raids, many communities are fearful of leaving their homes to access essential services for fear of being detained. Furthermore, allowing ICE or CBP officers to come to areas where children gather, such as playgrounds, child care centers, and schools means that children could witness their classmates, parents, teachers and other community members arrested or threatened. This can cause harm to children’s mental and physical health, as well as their long-term development.
The Protecting Sensitive Locations Act would codify the long-standing policy of making sure that ICE and CBP cannot take enforcement actions within 1,000 feet of protected areas including: medical or mental healthcare facilities, child care and early education sites, schools and universities, places where children gather, disaster and emergency response sites, domestic violence shelters, places of worship, courthouses, and public assistance offices. The bill requires that ICE and CBP personnel receive training on carrying out enforcement activities.
The bill also has exceptions that allow ICE and CBP to carry out enforcement activities in the case of exigent circumstances (e.g., imminent risk of death, violence, threat to public safety, etc.).
Last month, Rep. Grijalva asked Arizona hospitals for their plans to continue protecting the delivery of services for immigrants. More information on that request can be found here.