Trump’s Crackdown on ‘Illegal Aliens’ Reaches New York, New Jersey Gurdwaras

Trump’s Crackdown on ‘Illegal Aliens’ Reaches New York: According to Sikh organisations, immigration enforcement officials from the US Department of Homeland Security visited various gurdwaras in New York and New Jersey on Sunday looking for “illegal” immigrants.

Trump administration officials regularly employ the term “illegal aliens” in characterizing “illegal immigrants”.

Also Read: India-China Ties: Chinese Foreign Minister Calls for Mutual Understanding

“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.

The Trump administration has launched targeted actions against such immigrants found “illegal” by their classification. This Republican administration repealed guidelines instituted by the Biden administration that prevented enforcement actions near areas deemed sensitive. These areas included reverend places of worship, including gurdwara and churches.

Earlier, Vice-president JD Vance refused to rule out the possibility of immigration raids targeting religious buildings and stated 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 extreme disquiet over the repeal of protections for “sensitive” areas that had been instituted by the Trump administration.

“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.

Also Read: Uniform Civil Code in Uttarakhand: CM’s Stand on Second Marriage, Live-in Relationships & Property Rights

"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.

According to Gill, these actions imperil the “sanctity” of the Sikh faith and convey a “chilling message” to immigrant communities in the United States.

The Sikh Coalition argued that the new directive would limit Sikhs' ability to gather and associate with one another according to 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.

Also Read: Colombia’s President Petro Claps Back at Trump Over Migrant Row: ‘One Day, Over Whiskey’