Press Releases

Today, Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) and Senator Richard Blumenthal (CT) reintroduced the landmark, bicameral bill, Protecting Sensitive Locations Act, during the 119th Congress. This pivotal legislation would codify commonsense protections for immigrant communities at sensitive locations amid the onslaught of attacks on immigrants, including vulnerable immigrant families. The Protecting Sensitive Locations Act for the 119th is co-led by Representatives Don Beyer, Sylvia Garcia, Pramila Jayapal, Suzanne Bonamici, Chuy Garcia, Jasmine Crockett, and Delia C. Ramirez.

“Donald Trump has prioritized attacking immigrant families and we have witnessed a barrage of policy directives that seek to sow fear and intimidation throughout all immigrant communities across the nation,” said Rep. Adriano Espaillat. “I first introduce Protecting Sensitive Locations to implement protections of immigrants in sensitive locations where they are most vulnerable. Support of the bill has grown expeditiously among my Congressional colleagues and advocates who are united in our efforts to prohibit immigration enforcement actions, including arrests, interviews, searches, and surveillance—at these “sensitive locations” where immigrant communities gather.”

“Families should not have to make the difficult decision to not attend school or not seek medical treatment out of fear that these locations could be the target of ICE raids, nor should the American public expect to be traumatized by enforcement actions at places they should feel safe,” said Rep. Don Beyer. “As the Trump Administration’s aggressive implementation of anti-immigrant policies creates extreme fear and anxiety among immigrant communities, this commonsense legislation would protect sensitive locations from enforcement activities to ensure community members can access basic and necessary services without fear.”

“Allowing ICE to invade spaces where people access health care, education, justice, and prayer is cruel and unnecessary, as well as a threat to public safety. When people are too frightened to seek medical care or report a crime, the entire community suffers. The Protecting Sensitive Locations Act establishes fundamental safeguards for our immigrant neighbors who have lived here for decades, worked hard, raised families, and enriched our communities,” said Senator Blumenthal

“If you care about kids, about families, you know in your gut that ICE agents staking out schools, hospitals, churches and other sensitive places is just plain wrong. It’s cruel and predatory,” said Rep. Sylvia Garcia. “Our children are already traumatized when their parents are deported. They’re scared to go to school, afraid ICE might show up. That kind of fear can last a lifetime. There’s a way to enforce immigration laws that doesn’t terrify people from going to school, to church, or to see a doctor. That’s why I’m proud to join Congressman Espaillat in advancing this critical legislation. It’s the right thing to do—the human thing to do.”

“People should have the right to feel safe when going to school, to the hospital, to places of worship, to courthouses,” said Rep. Pramila Jayapal. “The aggressive implementation of Trump’s mass deportation agenda should not be allowed to breach these barriers. Not only can these actions in sensitive locations cause harm to mental and physical health, but they could also deter legal residents from accessing essential services, such as seeking out emergency disaster assistance, medical treatment, or even shelter or legal protections in a domestic violence situation for fear of detention, deportation, or shipment to Guantanamo Bay under Trump’s plans. We must protect these spaces for all communities.”

“It is unacceptable that the Trump Administration abandoned the humane sensitive location policy that the United States had for years to keep ICE raids out of sensitive locations, including schools, hospitals, and places of worship,” said Rep. Suzanne Bonamici. “Targeting people who are learning, accessing health care, or engaged in worship does not make our communities safer. By making people feel and be unsafe everywhere, the Trump administration is jeopardizing public health and  safety. This legislation will provide needed protections to immigrant members of our communities who are trying to take care of their families and practice their faith.”

“No one should live in fear of being detained while taking their child to school, seeking medical care, or practicing their faith. Trump’s decision to allow immigration enforcement in sensitive locations has further increased levels of fear and intimidation within my district and across the country,” said Rep. Jesús “Chuy” García. “The Protecting Sensitive Locations Act is a crucial step in ensuring that immigrant families can access essential services without the threat of ICE enforcement looming over them.” 

“By not protecting these sensitive locations, we are hurting entire communities across our country,” said Rep. Jasmine Crockett. “In Texas, we’re already witnessing community members not accessing vital medical care when they need it because they’re afraid to leave their house.  We are seeing children no longer going to our schools because parents are afraid of being detained in front of their kids. Businesses are dealing with staff shortages because people with visas and green cards are afraid of being unlawfully profiled and rounded up by ICE. This is not who we are. This is not who we should be. I am proud to colead this bill to end the desecration of our country’s safe and most sacred places.”

“The Trump Administration may think that no church is sacred enough, that no school is precious enough, that no hospital is critical enough to stop the persecution of our neighbors.” Rep. Delia Ramirez said, “But we know better. I am fighting back with my colleagues and introducing the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act to affirm that our sacred, precious, and critical spaces should remain safe from ICE cruelty.”

“The Trump Administration's reckless rescission of the protected areas policy is part of an effort to create a chilling effect, deterring parents from carrying out essential activities such as taking a child to school or a doctor's appointment,” said Wendy Cervantes, Director of Immigration and Immigrant Families as CLASP. “Leaving it up to immigration enforcement agents to use "common sense" has proven misguided in the past, with our own research documenting immigration enforcement actions in child care parking lots. We support the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act because we believe that keeping locations critical to children and families safe from immigration enforcement supports the well-being of immigrant families, as well as the security and stability of entire communities.”

“The Trump administration’s memo allowing ICE agents to enter schools and hospitals is an immediate threat to the well-being of our children and communities. All children.  It will cause irreparable harm, indelibly scarring not only immigrant families, but all families. We immediately asked the new President to reverse this. He has not. We need an act of Congress, that is why we wholeheartedly support the legislation introduced by Rep. Espaillat to reverse it. Schools and hospitals are supposed to be safe and welcoming places. We urge Congress to quickly pass the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act to reverse a policy that is both cruel and un-American," said Randi Weingarten, President, AFT.

The list of “sensitive locations” for immigrant communities that this Act protects includes, but are not limited to: medical treatment facilities and health care facilities of all types; public and private schools, early childhood learning centers, preschools, scholastic activities, and field trips; places of worship; federal and local courthouses; DMVs and social security offices; polling places; labor union halls; and several other locations which provide essential or emergency services to immigrant communities, such as rape crisis centers and homeless shelters.

A broad coalition of Members of Congress, including 34 Representatives and 18 Senators support the bill as cosponsors. The Protecting Sensitive Locations Act is endorsed by over 580 advocate organizations across several industries including, health care, education, and religious institutions. This organizations include:

CLASP, The American Federation of Teachers, National Education Association, The School Superintendents Association, ABISA, Abriendo Puertas/Opening Doors, Acacia Center for Justice • Access Ready, Inc., Advocates for Youth, African Communities Together, United Methodist Church, Global Refuge, Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees, Guttmacher Institute, Health Outreach Partners, HIAS, Hispanic Federation, Human Impact Partners, Human Rights First, Human Rights Watch, Hunger Free America, Immigrant Connections,  Immigration Equality Action Fund, Immigration Hub, Immigration Law & Justice Network, Immigrant Legal Resource Center, ImmSchools, National Immigration Law Center, National Immigration Project, National Latina Institute for Reproductive Justice, National League for Nursing, National Low Income Housing Coalition, National Network for Arab American Communities, National Network for Immigrant and Refugee Rights (NNIRR), National Network of Abortion Funds, National Newcomer Network, National Partnership for New Americans, National Partnership for Women & Families, National Religious Campaign Against Torture, National Skills Coalition, National WIC Association, National Women's Law Center, NETWORK Lobby for Catholic Social Justice, Network of Jewish Human Service Agencies, Vera Institute of Justice, Vision y Compromiso, Voices for Progress, We Are All America, Welcoming America, Women's Refugee Commission, Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights, and more.

Click here for a full list of endorsing organizations.