Yesterday, President-elect Trump announced his administration will rescind U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) sensitive zones policy on his first day in office. The policy, which has been in place since 2011 and was expanded by the Biden administration in 2021, prevents ICE from arresting migrants in sensitive locations like schools, hospitals, and houses of worship. Critically, the policy also bars ICE from conducting enforcement anywhere that social services are offered, including domestic violence shelters and child welfare agencies. After January 20th, there will be no more safe spaces.

“Rescinding the sensitive zones policy will profoundly impact migrant women’s ability to meet their own immediate health and safety needs and those of their children,” said Zain Lakhani, director of the Migrant Rights and Justice Program at the Women’s Refugee Commission. “In addition to transforming schools, churches, and hospitals into sites of immigration enforcement, ICE agents will be allowed to enter domestic violence shelters to arrest and detain women seeking safety. This will force migrant survivors into an impossible choice between their safety and deportation and will result in real trauma to survivors who rely on shelters for protection.”

“This is an immigration policy that has consequences not just for immigrants, but for all of us,” said Melanie Nezer, WRC’s vice president for advocacy and external relations. “Regardless of how you feel about immigration or immigrants, we all benefit when sick people are treated, children go to school, and women are safe.”

The Women’s Refugee Commission has grave concerns about the impact of this policy change and urges state and local governments to take steps to protect migrants’ safe access to these essential spaces, which promote not only the health and safety of immigrants, but also the wider communities in which we all live.

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