Twenty-seven religious groups joined forces Tuesday to slap the Trump administration with a new lawsuit claiming Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s recent clawback of a policy that once stopped immigration raids in schools, churches, and daycares violates their First Amendment rights.
Comprised of a diverse number of faith traditions — the groups represent worshippers who are Christian, Jewish, Methodist, Epsicpoal, Pentecostal, Unitarian, Baptist, Quaker, and Methodist — their lawsuit claims immigration arrests at houses of worship “shatter the consecrated space of sanctuary” and undermine the very mission that their beliefs are anchored upon.
“Every human being, regardless of birthplace, is a child of God worthy of dignity, care, and love. Welcoming the stranger, or immigrant, is thus a central precept of their faith practices,” the lawsuit against ICE, the Department of Homeland Security, DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, and Customs and Border Protection notes.
Days after Trump was inaugurated, his administration removed standing policy that barred ICE officials from sensitive areas, insisting the directive would allow CBP and ICE agents to “catch criminal aliens including murderers and rapists.”
The groups say their rights are already being violated in Georgia. A Honduran man who crossed the border with his wife and children, and then immediately turned himself into authorities to request asylum — he was even equipped with an ankle monitor and had a court date scheduled — was arrested in January while he was actively worshipping inside a Pentecostal church.
