ICE is temporarily blocked from policing mostly Quaker groups after threats of immigration enforcement ‘chilled’ worship among congregations. The judge, however, did not grant a nationwide injunction. Instead, ICE is blocked from enforcement actions in roughly 1,700 places of worship in 35 states, Washington, D.C. and Puerto Rico.
Judge Chuang agreed that the Trump administration’s directive has “chilled” participation and worship among their congregations, while the Department of Homeland Security has “provided no facts demonstrating how its interests, in increased immigration enforcement or otherwise, would be materially and adversely impacted” by temporarily blocking its policy as a legal challenge plays out.
“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,” according to a statement from Skye Perryman, CEO of Democracy Forward, which represented plaintiffs in the lawsuit.
“Religious institutions should not have to go to court to fight for the right to worship and associate freely that is enshrined in our Constitution,” she added. For more than 300 years, Quaker groups “have been committed to the fundamental right of anyone and everyone to worship freely,” according to a statement from Sarah Gillooly, general secretary of Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.
“Nobody should be afraid of attending a Quaker Meeting or any other house of worship. We are grateful that the court’s decision reflects the importance of these core rights and will not let the government infringe upon them,” she added. Trump and his allies argued arrests would target immigrants who committed high-level crimes, but the administration later said it was treating all immigrants in the U.S. without legal permission as “criminals.”.
