Religious Groups Sue Trump Administration Over Immigration Arrests in Churches

by Emmitt Barry, Worthy News Correspondent

(Worthy News) – Over two dozen Christian and Jewish groups, representing millions, sued the Trump administration to block expanded immigration arrests at houses of worship.

The lawsuit, filed in D.C. federal court, argues the policy instills fear, reducing church attendance and programs, violating religious freedom to minister to migrants.

“We have immigrants, refugees, people who are documented and undocumented,” said the Most Rev. Sean Rowe, presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. “We cannot worship freely if some of us are living in fear,” he told The Associated Press. “By joining this lawsuit, we’re seeking the ability to gather and fully practice our faith, to follow Jesus’ command to love our neighbors as ourselves.”

The new lawsuit builds on a similar case filed Jan. 27 by Quaker congregations, later joined by the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship and a Sikh temple, now pending in Maryland federal court.

The Trump administration has yet to respond to the new lawsuit, which names the Department of Homeland Security and its immigration agencies as defendants.

However, a Justice Department memo filed Friday opposing the Quaker lawsuit argued that blocking the policy is based on speculative future harm, insufficient for an injunction. The memo also stated that immigration enforcement in houses of worship has long been permitted, and the January policy merely grants field agents discretion to act without prior supervisor approval.

The latest lawsuit represents a diverse coalition of faith groups, including over 1 million Reform Jews, 1.5 million Episcopalians, 1.1 million Presbyterians (U.S.A.), and 1.5 million African Methodist Episcopalians. Other plaintiffs include the Disciples of Christ, Church of the Brethren, Hispanic Baptist churches, Quakers, Mennonites, Unitarian Universalists, Conservative Jewish congregations, and regional branches of the United Methodist Church and United Church of Christ.

Many conservative faith leaders and legal experts disagree with concerns over the new arrest policy. “Places of worship are for worship and are not sanctuaries for illegal activity or for harboring people engaged in illegal activity,” said Mat Staver, founder of the conservative Christian legal group Liberty Counsel. “Fugitives or criminals are not immune from the law merely because they enter a place of worship,” he stated via email. “This is not a matter of religious freedom. There is no right to openly violate the law and disobey law enforcement.”

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