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Trump's hunt for 'illegal aliens' reaches New York, New Jersey gurdwaras
Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrested over 1,000 people across the US on Saturday and Sunday for “illegal” immigration into the country.
Immigration enforcement officials from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) visited gurdwaras in New York and New Jersey on Sunday to check for the presence of “illegal” immigrants, prompting a sharp reaction from Sikh organisations.
Officials in the Trump administration have repeatedly used the term “illegal aliens” to describe “illegal immigrants”.
“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP and ICE to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens—including murders and rapists—who have illegally come into our country,” a DHS spokesperson said.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,” the spokesperson added.
US President Donald Trump's administration has begun targeted action against immigrants seen as “illegal” by the administration. The Republican administration had retracted the Biden administration guidelines that prevented enforcement actions near areas deemed “sensitive”. These included places of worship like gurdwara and churches.
Earlier, Vice-president JD Vance refused to rule out the possibility of immigration raids targeting religious buildings and said such measures are “not unique” to immigration.
“If you have a person who is convicted of a violent crime, whether they are an illegal immigrant or not, you have to go and get that person to protect the public safety,” Vance said.
‘Gravely concerned’
The Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDF) expressed grave concern about the Trump administration rescinding previous guidelines on “sensitive” areas.
“We are deeply alarmed by the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to eliminate protections for sensitive areas and then target places of worship like gurdwaras,” PTI quoted Kiran Kaur Gill, executive director of SALDEF, as saying.
"This troubling shift in policy comes in tandem with community reports of DHS agents visiting gurdwaras in the New York and New Jersey areas just days after the directive was issued," SALDF said.
Gill said these actions threatened the “sanctity” of the Sikh faith and sent a “chilling message” to immigrant communities in the US.
The Sikh Coalition said the new directive would limit the ability of Sikhs to gather and associate with one another per their faith. “The idea that our gurdwaras could be subject to government surveillance and raids by armed law enforcement with or without warrants is unacceptable to the Sikh faith tradition,” it said.
“If Sikhs—whether documented or undocumented—are concerned with gurdwara raids and surveillance, gurdwaras may well be impacted by decreased attendance, and thus an inability to carry out essential religious practices in a meaningful manner,” Sikh Coalition added.
(With PTI inputs)
