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By Billal Rahman
Immigration Reporter
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President Donald Trump is facing mounting resistance from Democratic critics in Arizona after lifting restrictions on immigration enforcement, allowing agents to target sensitive locations like schools, churches and hospitals.
On Monday, the acting head of the Department of Homeland Security, Benjamine Huffman, released a memo that reversed the Biden administration's policy of prohibiting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from operating in or near schools, churches and other "sensitive locations."
In a statement regarding the policy shift, a DHS spokesperson said that "criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest."
Read More on Politics
Trump made immigration a central theme of his successful presidential campaign and Americans largely support his mass deportation plans, though they are divided about how exactly they should be carried out.
A *New York Times/*Ipsos poll, carried out from January 2 to 10, found 55 percent of voters strongly or somewhat supported such plans. Eighty-eight percent supported "Deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have criminal records." Large majorities of both Democrats and Republicans agreed that the immigration system is broken.
Yassamin Ansari, a Democrat who represents Arizona's 3rd Congressional District in the U.S. House, has emerged as a vocal critic of the administration's actions, though she agrees the immigration system needs reform.
Speaking to Newsweek, Ansari called the schools and churches policy "ridiculous" and highlighted its impact on her constituents, many of whom she said are deeply concerned about their families.
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"There are places in the United States that should be considered safe places," said Ansari, who is the daughter of immigrants and at 32 is the youngest woman in the 119th Congress.
"A school is one of those places; a hospital is one of those places. I have close friends who are doctors, and having to, on top of the work that they do daily to save lives, think about protecting people and their patients is outrageous."
Ansari, who succeeded Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego, boycotted Trump's inauguration and chose to attend a Martin Luther King Jr. Day march in her district in Phoenix.
She has been hosting listening sessions with school districts, nonprofits, local legislators and labor unions to address the growing fears in her district among immigrant communities.
"We heard from some of the schools that parents are already pulling their kids out in some cases of schools and that they're concerned about what might happen to them or not knowing if a raid may happen in a school," she said.
"I find all of Trump's proposed policies on this topic to be outrageous. The reality of the matter is that Democrats, alongside Republicans, agree that we need comprehensive immigration reform and we need a secure border. None of the policies that Trump has proposed address these issues."
A spokesperson for ICE told Newsweek: "U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has not conducted any operations at schools or bus stops. Our enforcement efforts remain focused on public safety threats and those who have a final order of removal."
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Immigrants, Families and Students in Arizona
Ansari said that scammers have been preying on immigrant communities, falsely claiming to offer legal services and defrauding vulnerable families.
"There's a lot of bad actors taking advantage of the situation. So we heard some stories of individuals alleging that they are lawyers and scamming people out of money."
According to the American Immigration Council, roughly 13.1 percent of the state's residents are immigrants, and about 8.6 percent of its U.S.-born residents live with at least one immigrant parent.
Arizona state Senator Lela Alston, another Democrat and former Phoenix Union School District Governing Board president, said Trump's policy will "traumatize" students.
"Sensitive location policies have been in place for more than a decade and removing them will do nothing but deter mixed-status families from receiving medical attention, going to church, attending school or carrying out their day-to-day activities," she said in a statement.
"This despicable act, which is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to carry out his promise of mass deportation, will not help increase public safety. It will instead lead to nearly six million kids in the U.S. living in fear everyday that they may be separated from their families.
"As a former educator, it is heartbreaking to think of how this will traumatize children."
'Focused Exclusively on Those Involved in Criminal Activity'
Not everyone agrees. Newsweek recently interviewed a pastor who had held discussions with the then-incoming Trump administration. Speaking on condition of anonymity, he said: "The incoming administration's policy on sensitive locations like churches, schools and hospitals is focused exclusively on those involved in criminal activity.
"We're talking about gang members, rapists, murderers, pedophiles—people who are causing real harm."
However, across the aisle within Arizona's Republican establishment, there is also some dissent. Tom Horne, the state's Superintendent of Public Instruction and a member of the Republican Party, said that he opposes ICE raids in schools because fewer children would attend, undermining their right to an education—a right upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court's 1982 decision in Plyler v. Doe.
"If they do that, less kids will come to school," Horne told the Phoenix New Times.
Horne said that "it's not [a child's] fault their parents came here illegally" and that he is concerned that Trump's policy will prevent undocumented students from getting an education.
Such examples of bipartisan opposition suggest unease over Trump's reversal of sensitive location protections, with critics accusing the administration of prioritizing fear over family and community stability.
Immigrant advocacy groups like Puente Arizona are mobilizing to protect vulnerable families. The organization, which says it has "led the fight against local and federal anti-migratory policies while building a political home for Arizona's most marginalized community members" for over 10 years, has launched a hotline to monitor ICE and Border Patrol activity in the Phoenix area, dispel misinformation and protect immigrant families from being separated.
The National Parents Union hit out at the administration's decision and described it as a "disgraceful" move that threatens the wellbeing of children in immigrant families.
"We unequivocally condemn the announcement that the Trump administration will allow federal immigration agencies to make arrests at schools, daycare centers, places of worship and hospitals," the National Parents Union said in a statement.
"Law abiding individuals and their families should be treated humanely and with dignity. The decision to go after families in safe places sends a disgraceful message that threatens to emotionally scar young children whose families may be deported and other young children caught up in the crossfire."
Monica Sandschafer, Arizona state director for Mi Familia Vota, which says its mission is to "to mobilize Latino power, through year-round activation of the electorate, and investment in local infrastructure, to advance our community's policy priorities," said school raids are dangerous and inhumane.
"It will deter children from going to school, as parents will be afraid that ICE will detain their children, and it will tear families apart," she said. "Schools have an obligation and an opportunity to protect their students, regardless of their immigration status.
"Can we imagine for a moment what it would be like for a child to live with the anxiety of suddenly losing their parents or being ripped away from the only world they've ever known? Have we thought about what it would be like for the non-immigrant children to show up to school and have their best friend missing, or their favorite teacher deported? This is a terrible policy for everyone."
Meanwhile, Ansari announced plans to introduce a resolution aimed at supporting immigrant communities amid the looming threat of Trump's renewed Muslim ban.
"My team and I are working on introducing a resolution to support immigrant communities and their contributions to our country," Ansari told Newsweek.
The administration is in the process of determining which countries will be included in the latest iteration of the ban, a move Ansari described as harmful to the nation's core principles.
"This legislation really intends to make a strong statement opposing Trump's policies that harm our national security, our economy and our fundamental values as a nation," she said.
Ansari also emphasized the need for comprehensive immigration reform, including pathways to citizenship for Dreamers and DACA recipients.
"I think the biggest issues that we have when it comes to the border is not just more resources but also just legal pathways to immigration," she said. "And for decades in this country, one of the major challenges we faced is around Dreamers and DACA recipients, making sure that people who were raised in this country have a pathway to citizenship. That is what I believe we should be focused on."
As Arizona grapples with the fallout from Trump's policy reversal, the state has become a battleground for immigration enforcement.
With grassroots organizations, state officials and lawmakers rallying against the administration's actions, the stage is set for a showdown over immigration policies.
Update, 1/25/25, 9:52 a.m. ET: This article was updated with additional background information. The headline was also updated.
Update, 1/27/25, 05:34 a.m. ET: This article was updated with comment from a spokesperson for ICE.
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