The Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Border Protection can now make arrests in places previously considered broadly off-limits.
A directive from 2011 designated “sensitive” places including schools, houses of worship, hospitals, funerals, weddings and public demonstrations.
The move to repeal the rule is part of the Trump administration’s approach to broadening the capacities of ICE. While it still could be that ICE does not want the optics of making arrests in such places, it’s not yet clear how the policy could impact Teton County School District No. 1.
Spokesperson Charlotte Reynolds said talks with the school’s lawyer still needed to happen, then coordination with the Teton County Sheriff’s Office. She said safety was the top priority and protections exist.
“Our schools are secured during the school day,” she said. “The general public is not allowed to just come into a school building without authorization from the district.”
Under the “sensitive locations” guidance, officers had been generally required to get approval for any enforcement operations, although there were exceptions for things like national security.
Turning to an attorney for advice was also the plan for the Rev. Mary Erickson, with St. John’s Episcopal Church.
“We will do everything we can to offer a safe and inviting space,” she said, “that is always our goal and our hope.”
Erickson she had not yet heard from churchgoers who were afraid to come to worship, but that the church had hosted training for people to know their rights. “I actually am more concerned about schools and hospitals,” she said. “If people are afraid to send their children to school and are afraid to go to the hospital, get medical treatment, that worries me a lot.”