The Trump Department of Homeland Security has empowered federal law enforcement officers to go into schools and churches to arrest illegal immigrants following a yearslong bar from entering those facilities. The acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman on Tuesday issued a directive to employees at Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection to make arrests inside those facilities and outside on nearby property.

A cross is reflected in glass panels at the Christ Cathedral in Garden Grove, California, on Oct. 14. Photo: Paul Bersebach/MediaNews Group/Orange County Register via Getty Images Immigration officials can raid churches and schools to arrest undocumented immigrants after the Trump administration scrapped a policy that protected sensitive spaces. The big picture: President Trump has promised aggressive immigration crackdowns, and the latest directive signals the Department of Homeland Security will consider operations at sites previously deemed off-limits.