In a rare show of unity, 27 religious groups are suing the federal government over its new policy of allowing immigration-related arrests in churches. The coalition, which includes about 15 Christian denominations, filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Feb. 11 in the District of Columbia. It follows a similar lawsuit filed last month in Maryland by Quaker organizations.
After President Trump’s January inauguration, he rescinded a long-standing practice that kept the Department of Homeland Security’s immigration agents out of churches, schools, and hospitals. Religious groups say allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) personnel into sanctuaries violates the First Amendment right to freely worship.
“Every human being, regardless of birthplace, is a child of God worthy of dignity, care, and love,” the groups stated in the lawsuit. “Welcoming the stranger, or immigrant, is thus a central precept of their faith practices.”
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Immigration Arrests: Faith Groups Sue Trump Administration
Immigration arrests and raids on churches “shatter the consecrated space of sanctuary, thwart communal worship, and undermine the social service outreach that is central to religious expression and spiritual practice for Plaintiffs’ congregations and members,” the suit stated.
Plaintiffs include major Christian denominations such as the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the Episcopal Church, African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Mennonite Church, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and Church of the Brethren. Other plaintiffs include various councils and networks, as well as some Jewish organizations and the Unitarian Universalist Association.
The coalition argues that the Trump administration policy violates the First Amendment’s guarantee of freedom of expressive association, as well as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.
Pointing to a Supreme Court precedent, the lawsuit noted, “Defendants cannot show that immigration enforcement action at Plaintiffs’ places of worship serves a compelling state interest ‘that cannot be achieved through means significantly less restrictive of associational freedoms.’”
The lawsuit mentioned Rogelio Velasquez Cruz, a Honduran man who was in the process of seeking asylum in the United States. Tracked via his immigration ankle monitor, Cruz was arrested by ICE agents outside a Georgia church in late January.
Trump Administration Responds to Lawsuit
Tricia McLaughlin, a Homeland Security spokeswoman, defended the policy. “We are protecting our schools, places of worship, and Americans who attend,” she said, “by preventing criminal aliens and gang members from exploiting these locations and take safe haven there, because these criminals knew that under the previous administration that law enforcement couldn’t go inside.”
