Arizona State Senate
1700 W. Washington St.
Phoenix, AZ 85007
Press Release
PHOENIX – Earlier this week, President Trump’s Administration rescinded guidelines that prohibited Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection from performing arrests in or near “sensitive” areas including schools, places of worship, and hospitals. Senator Lela Alston (LD5), former Phoenix Union School District Governing Board President, issued the following response:
“Sensitive location policies have been in place for more than a decade and removing them will do nothing but deter mixed-status families from receiving medical attention, going to church, attending school or carrying out their day-to-day activities.
Roughly 13.1 percent of Arizona’s population are immigrants, with nearly half of those being naturalized citizens and almost all of them contributing to their community and working to provide better opportunities for their family.
This despicable act, which is part of a larger effort by the Trump administration to carry out his promise of mass deportation, will not actually help increase public safety. It will instead lead to nearly six million kids in the U.S. living in fear everyday that they may be separated from their families.
As a former educator, it is heartbreaking to think of how this will traumatize children. I have been a public servant for most of my life because I believe that we need to create a world where everyone is treated fairly. Trump’s recent immigration actions, which Arizona Legislative Republicans are attempting to replicate, goes against that belief.
In Arizona, there are close to 150,000 U.S. citizen children living with at least one undocumented family member. Without sensitive location policies, the likelihood of these children watching their parents or family members be detained, arrested and deported increases exponentially.
Hospitals, churches and schools should be safe places where care and community are prioritized, not places where people are scared it might be there last day seeing their loved ones. No one should feel like they can’t seek life-saving treatment, attend a religious service, or get an education because it might result in them losing their family.”
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