What ‘Sensitive Locations’ Now Being Referred To As ‘Protected Areas’ Really Means

Austin Kocher, research assistant professor at Newhouse with the Transactional Research Access Clearinghouse (TRAC), wrote commentary for The Hill “Will ‘protected areas’ really be safe from immigration enforcement? Probably not.”

In Kocher’s commentary, he discussed the lack of protection being given to places like churches and other religious institutions, which are supposed to be ‘protected areas.’ He said, ‘On a positive note, this description does suggest that Mayorkas wants immigration enforcement officers to think contextually about the broader social impacts of immigration enforcement activities. I suppose if one wanted to be generous, this could be interpreted as a good thing. And it certainly appears to reaffirm and even expand the protections provided under the Morton Memo for immigrants seeking sanctuary.’