The administration of US President Donald Trump has… I blinked It is a decade-old policy that prevented immigration authorities from making arrests at sensitive locations, including schools, churches and hospitals.

As the fallout from the move unfolded Wednesday, many of those living undocumented in the United States expressed concerns about the effects it could have on the few aspects of life in which they feel safe.

“I’m not sleeping,” Iris Gonzalez told The Associated Press news agency from Boston, Massachusetts, where her children have been going to school for a decade.

Gonzalez, who came to the United States from Guatemala 14 years ago, wondered what would happen if she contacted immigration authorities while attending a court hearing or driving.

“What if they stop me?” she said.

She also wondered whether she should continue to look for work under the new administration. However, she insisted that her children would continue to go to school, where she hoped they would be safe.

“Education is important,” she told the Spanish news agency.

‘Devastating consequences’

Gonzalez’s story highlights the daily negotiations conducted by those seeking to avoid potential immigration enforcement under Trump, whose political comeback has been based on… Pledge to conduct ‘mass deportations’ Reducing immigration to the United States.

His first days in office were marked by a series of executive orders and actions related to immigration enforcement. This included declaring a national emergency at the US border to increase the number of personnel and resources there, laying the groundwork for expedited deportations, and suspending the CBP One app that thousands of asylum seekers had relied on to make appointments.

Trump has also sought to end the so-called Citizenship by birthA It moves It has already been challenged in court by state officials and human rights groups.

On Tuesday, the second day of Trump’s second term, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) met. Announce It ended the policy of avoiding immigration raids on “sensitive” locations.

This shift largely affects two agencies: Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP), both of which have directives barring enforcement in places like medical centers.

So far, no major immigration enforcement operations have been reported in the US since Trump took office, but speaking to reporters on Monday, the incoming president said it was only a matter of time.

“I don’t want to say when, but it will happen. It has to happen, otherwise we will have no country left.”

Meanwhile, rights groups have spent the weeks since Trump’s November 5 election victory holding training sessions with community groups on how best to respond to the coming crackdown.

Many have condemned the Department of Homeland Security’s policy shift as a dangerous precedent, noting that the “sensitive location” policy was designed to ensure those living in the country without documentation are able to access basic services.

“This action could have devastating consequences for immigrant families and their children, including U.S. citizen children, preventing them from receiving medical care, seeking disaster relief, attending school, and carrying out daily activities,” said Olivia Golden, the organization’s interim executive director. The Center for Law and Social Policy said in a statement.

“If the presence of ICE near these locations becomes more common, the likelihood also increases that children will witness a parent being detained, arrested, or have other encounters with ICE agents,” Golden said.

“I can’t imagine why they would do that”

For its part, the Department of Homeland Security claimed, in a statement announcing the policy change, that “criminals” used sensitive websites to avoid arrest, without providing data to support this claim.

“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in American schools and churches to avoid arrest,” the statement read.

“The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement forces, instead trusting them to use common sense.”

In another sign that Trump is seeking to roll back safeguards for undocumented communities, the Justice Department has also begun directing federal prosecutors to investigate state or local officials who stand in the way of increased federal immigration enforcement, according to a memo obtained by The Guardian. The Associated Press on Wednesday.

This step is considered a clear attack against the so-called “haven“Jurisdictions, where local officials instruct law enforcement authorities under their control not to coordinate with federal immigration agents.

The Justice Department memo also called on federal prosecutors to return to the practice of charging defendants with the most serious provable crime, limiting the prosecutor’s discretion in those cases.

In response to the Trump administration’s shift on “sensitive” sites, Carmen, an immigrant from Mexico, was skeptical.

“Oh my dead god!” She told the Associated Press. “I can’t imagine why they would do that.”

However, Carmen said she is confident that the local school system in the San Francisco Bay Area will notify her if it becomes unsafe for her to bring her four- and six-year-old grandchildren to school.

Carmen, who asked that her last name not be used for fear of being targeted by immigration agents, said: “What helped me calm my nerves was knowing that the school stood with us and promised to inform us if the situation was not safe at school.”