The officials of the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) have started visiting the gurudwaras located in New Jersey and New York to hunt illegal immigrants as part of the new policies of the Trump administration.
This action of the government has been strongly criticised by various Sikh organisations who are seeing it as a threat to their religious places’ sanctity.The crackdown is being carried out in the wake of some reports hinting at Sikh separatists and undocumented immigrants hiding themselves at such places.
The policy change was introduced shortly after Donald Trump took oath as the president.
A directive was issued by Acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman which reversed the guidelines of the previous regime on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP) enforcement.
In the previous guidelines, enforcement actions were not allowed in or near “sensitive areas” which included places of worship.Trump administration officials have been using the “illegal aliens” for the “illegal immigrants”.
“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,” said a DHS spokesperson, reported PTI.
“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 new administration under US President Donald Trump has started taking action against immigrants who have entered illegally as per the government.
Sikh Community Criticises Crackdown On Gurudwaras
Reacting to the crackdown on gurudwaras, the Sikh American Legal Defence and Education Fund (SALDF) expressed their concern over the changes in the policy in a statement.“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,” said the group.
“We are deeply alarmed by the Department of Homeland Security’s decision to eliminate protection for sensitive areas and then target places of worship like gurdwaras,” said SALDEF executive director Kiran Kaur Gill.
She added that gurdwaras are not just places of worship but something more than that.
“They are vital community centres that provide support, nourishment, and spiritual solace to Sikhs and the broader community. Targeting these spaces for enforcement actions threatens the sanctity of our faith and sends a chilling message to immigrant communities nationwide,” Gill said.
The Sikh Coalition further criticised the policy change because of which protection was removed from areas like hospitals, schools, and social service providers.
They warned that these changes can permit surveillance, investigations, arrests, and raids by ICE agents at gurdwaras.“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 will burden religious exercise by limiting the ability of Sikhs to gather and associate with one another in accordance with our faith,” said the Sikh Coalition.
“It also harkens to dark periods in our collective memory when governments interfered in the ability of Sikhs to practice our faith freely—with deadly consequences,” added the group.
