Under instructions announced Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security, immigration officials in the United States would prohibit arrests at schools, hospitals, and other “protected” locations, as part of a larger move to reverse President Donald Trump’s enforcement policy.

According to a letter from DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announcing the policy, agents and police are being told to avoid making arrests or conducting searches at a variety of sensitive areas “to the greatest degree practicable.”

It is the latest in a series of immigration rules enacted by President Joe Biden with the goal of being more focused in terms of enforcement. The policy is identical to one implemented by President Barack Obama, who limited arrests in churches and schools.

The new regulation extends beyond schools to encompass medical and childcare facilities, parks and leisure centres, as well as protests and rallies.

It also irritated Biden opponents who claim that lax enforcement encourages people to enter the nation illegally. The Trump administration drew criticism for attempting to arrest and deport anybody who was in the country illegally, regardless of criminal background or community connections, while DHS also followed a sensitive sites policy that prohibited enforcement efforts in churches and other places.

Immigration enforcement guidelines announced earlier this year ordered officials to concentrate on recent undocumented people, national security risks, and persons who have committed significant crimes. DHS also limited arrests in courthouses when people arrived for other reasons and ceased major workplace searches.

Mayorkas has maintained that his office has the means to pursue all of the estimated 11 million undocumented persons in the nation, and that it should instead concentrate on those who represent the greatest danger to society.

The secretary said in introducing the revised policy guidelines that agents and officers should examine “broader social interests” and the effect of their activity on communities.

“We can carry out our law enforcement mandate without denying folks access to required medical treatment, children access to their schools, the displaced access to food and shelter, people of religion access to their houses of worship, and many other things,” Mayorkas added.

The list of protected areas includes broad categories such as “a place where children gather” and “a place where disaster or emergency response and relief is provided,” a broad policy that represents a significant shift for an agency that includes US Customs and Border Protection and the Border Patrol.

The Federation for American Immigration Reform, a vocal opponent of Biden’s policies, slammed the recommendations as a “useful list of sites to avoid enforcement.”

Exceptions include actions involving a national security danger, an urgent risk of death, violence, or bodily injury to a person, the “hot pursuit” of someone posing a public safety concern, and someone who was personally witnessed crossing the border without legal authority.

Other exclusions would be if there is an urgent danger that evidence relevant to a criminal prosecution may be destroyed or if there is no secure alternative place.

Otherwise, agents or officers would need to get permission before initiating enforcement action “in or near” a protected location, according to the document.

The Biden administration has struggled to cope with significant numbers of migrants attempting to enter the United States-Mexico border, albeit the amount encountered has decreased in the last two months after more than a year of monthly rises.

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