History of the ‘Sensitive Areas’ Policies and What Is in Place Now
By Elizabeth Jacobs on March 7, 2025
The origins of “sensitive area” policies within modern immigration enforcement activities can be traced back to the early days of the Clinton administration.
All administrations since the Clinton administration have instructed immigration and customs officers to “exercise good judgment” (or used similar language) when determining whether to request approval for or engage in an enforcement action at a given location. Additionally, all sensitive area policies have allowed officers to engage in enforcement actions at sensitive areas in exigent circumstances.
ICE data from FY 2018 to FY 2020 shows that ICE exercised its authority to enter sensitive areas sparingly. (Data from other years is not publicly available.) No evidence in this data suggests that ICE conducted large scale or exploratory “raids” at sensitive areas during this timeframe.
The Biden administration imposed the most restrictive sensitive area policy in DHS or INS history by providing an expansive definition of “protected areas” and imposing the greatest limitations on officer discretion.
ICE’s new directive requires ERO and HSI leadership to only make “case-by-case” decisions rather than “bright line” rules, but leaves room for these offices to set new policies and procedures governing if, how, or when ICE officers must obtain approval prior to engaging in such actions. It is the only agency-wide policy, however, that does not explicitly require officers to obtain approval from leadership before engaging in a planned action at a protected area.
https://cis.org/Jacobs/History-Sensitive-Areas-Policies-and-What-Place-Now
