A federal judge on Monday temporarily blocked Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from entering churches or targeting migrants nearby, a change in policy that religious groups fought as a violation of longstanding federal policy not to conduct enforcement actions in places of worship.
U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang in Maryland ordered the Department of Homeland Security and its subdivision, ICE, not to conduct immigration enforcement actions “in or near any place of worship” associated with the case brought by Quakers, Baptists and Sikhs.
“Violations of this preliminary injunction shall subject Defendants and all other persons bound by this Order to all applicable penalties, including contempt of court,” Chuang wrote.
His order doesn’t apply to arrests authorized by an administrative or judicial warrant.
The ruling is another setback for one of President Donald Trump’s top priorities to strengthen immigration enforcement and conduct mass deportations of migrants who are in the country without legal authorization.
But groups of the Religious Society of Friends better known as Quakers, the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship representing 750,000 people and the Sikh Temple Sacramento representing 30,000 people fought the memo for allegedly discouraging attendance at religious events.
“For decades, the government has recognized that everyone – no matter their immigration status –should be able to attend houses of worship without fear of a warrantless government raid,” Skye Perryman, president of Democracy Forward, an advocacy group that represented the religious groups, said in a statement. “Our plaintiffs represent a unique and diverse coalition of religious groups that have been at the forefront in protecting values of religious liberty for centuries. We are grateful to the court for acting to limit this unlawful and harmful policy.”
Department of Homeland Security Inspector Marshall Caudle, watches a protest at a new Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Pflugerville on Feb. 1, 2025.
The acting head of DHS, Benjamine Huffman, had issued a memo Jan. 20 – Trump’s first day in office − rescinding Biden administration guidelines that protected places of worship and other locations from Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection. Huffman directed enforcement officers to use “common sense.”
The lawsuit argued that any government policy based solely on common sense was an unconstitutional violation of freedom of association under the First Amendment. The lawsuit also said the policy violated the Religious Freedom and Restoration Act and the Administrative Procedure Act.
The Quakers said it violated their exercise of religion because having ICE agents park outside services and interrupting to “drag a congregant out during the middle of worship” would discourage attendance.
“For over 30 years, it has been the government’s official policy to not enforce immigration laws in ‘protected areas,’ which include houses of worship (and other religious ceremonies like weddings and funerals), absent certain extraordinary circumstances. Rightly so,” the lawsuit said. “Enforcement in protected areas like houses of worship would, in the government’s own words, ‘restrain people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities.’”
USA Today/ Naomi Akinkunle
