The list of “sensitive locations” protected under this legislation 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.
The Protecting Sensitive Locations Act is cosponsored in theSenate by Senators Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-Nev.), Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), Martin Heinrich (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), Mazie K. Hirono (D-Hawaii), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Peter Welch (D-Vt.), Raphael Warnock (D-Ga.), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-R.I.), Tina Smith (D-Minn.), and Michael Bennet (D-Colo.).
The legislation is co-led in the House of Representatives by Representatives Sylvia Garcia (TX-29), Suzanne Bonamici (OR-01), Jesús “Chuy” García (IL-04), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Don Beyer (VA-08), Delia C. Ramirez (IL-03), and Jasmine Crockett (TX-30).
The legislation is endorsed by over 580 organizations, including Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) and the American Federation of Teachers (AFT).
"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 full list of endorsing organizations can be found here.
The full text of the bill can be found here.
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