In a lawsuit filed this week, more than two dozen Jewish and Christian groups argue a new ICE policy allowing immigration enforcement in churches infringes on their religious freedom.
The suit includes faith groups like Fellowship Southwest, a Christian nonprofit with churches in Arizona and other states.
Days into his new administration, Presidency Donald Trump did away with a longstanding ICE policy that limited immigration enforcement efforts in sensitive places like churches, schools and hospitals.
Kelsi Corkran is the Supreme Court Director of Georgetown Law’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, which represents the groups. She says that goes against federal laws protecting religious freedom.
“They have to choose whether or not to continue to welcome and encourage undocumented people into their places of worship, consistent with their religious mission, while at the same time if they do that then they will be exposing those people to arrest and deportation,” she said on a press call Tuesday. “This is a violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment — both of which prohibit the government from substantially burdening religious exercise and expression without identifying a compelling interest that cannot be served in a less-intrusive way.”
Corkran said ICE and Customs and Border Protection already had the ability to enter places of worship with a judicial warrant or under other, extenuating circumstances. But the new directive opens up further access.
“There really is no purpose to rescinding the sensitive places policy, other than to open up places of worship in a way that substantially burdens their religious practice and is not served by that compelling interest,” she said.
This is the second suit filed against the new directive.
