Massachusetts church group, Unitarians, other religious organizations sue over ICE plans to bust into places of worship in search of immigrants

The Massachusetts Council of Churches and 26 other religious groups, including the Boston-based Unitarian Universalist Association, this morning sued Homeland Security and ICE over their announced intentions to have agents storm religious sanctuaries in their efforts to find  brown people to deport.

In their suit, filed in US District Court in Washington, DC, the groups charge the change in decades-old policy against knocking down doors of religious sanctuaries violates their rights under the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act of 1993 and the Administrative Procedure Act.

Plaintiffs are at imminent risk of immigration enforcement actions violating the sanctity of their places of worship. Enforcement actions at or near Plaintiffs' churches and synagogues will substantially burden Plaintiffs' religious exercise. It will disrupt their worship and potentially prevent them from completing their religious responsibilities; it will desecrate and destroy all sense of safety in what is supposed to be a peaceful and holy space for congregants; and, if such action results in the removal of any person from the property, or in the further decline in attendance among congregants, it will prevent Plaintiffs' congregations and members from engaging in communal worship with all members of their community - including, but not limited to, those who are immigrants and those without lawful status. Likewise, an enforcement action directed at social service ministries on church or synagogue property will prevent Plaintiffs' congregations and members from carrying out their religious mission of welcoming and serving all immigrants without regard to status - either through direct interruption of worship or through a further decline in ministry participation by service recipients.

The rescission of the sensitive locations policy is already substantially burdening Plaintiffs' religious exercise. Many of their congregations have experienced a decrease in attendance at worship services and/or outreach ministries since the rescission, with congregants and those served by the ministries conveying that they are too afraid to visit churches and synagogues due to the looming threat of immigration enforcement action. By reducing the number and diversity of worshippers and people served through ministries, and by interfering with the ability of Plaintiffs' congregations and members to practice communally in accordance with their religious beliefs, the rescission substantially burdens Plaintiffs' religious exercise.

The rescission of the sensitive locations policy also substantially burdens the religious exercise of Plaintiffs' congregations and members by forcing them to make an impossible choice: either refrain from welcoming immigrants to worship and participate in their outreach ministries, or put their congregants and others they serve at risk of arrest and deportation, despite their religious obligation to love and protect them as some of their most vulnerable neighbors. Both options violate Plaintiffs' religious beliefs. 

The New York-based Episcopal Church described the impact on its churches:

An enforcement action at an Episcopal congregation during a worship service or other church activity will undermine fundamental tenets of the faith. Episcopal worship takes an incarnate form: congregants must be with one another in a community. Having the sacred trust of worship and the consecrated space of sanctuary shattered by an immigration enforcement action will be directly opposed to that practice and will harm the Church and its members. And even the loss of some congregants to the fear that immigration enforcement officers could enter during services undermines core Episcopalian beliefs that the Church is one body - when the whole community cannot gather, the communion of the members is impaired, and an injury to one is an injury to the whole denomination. Likewise, enforcement actions targeted at social service ministries impede the church's spiritual mission by violating the fundamental principles of sanctuary, mercy, and care for the vulnerable.

Episcopal congregations are already experiencing a substantial burden on their religious exercise as a result of the rescission of the sensitive locations policy. Congregations across the country have experienced a decrease in attendance at worship services and social service ministries because of members' fears of ICE or CBP as well as the same fears felt by nonmembers who participate in congregations' social service ministries. Some congregants with legal status are choosing to stay home out of fear that they may be mistakenly arrested simply because of their appearance. In one diocese, congregants were too afraid to even attend an informational Zoom call with an immigration attorney. Certain ministries, like those that serve largely undocumented farm worker populations, have had to be ended or restructured to keep congregants safe. Some congregations have stationed members at the church door to keep an eye out for immigration officials. The threat of an immigration enforcement action on church property could force Episcopal congregations to change their worship because of the fear of putting those they serve at risk or suffering the loss of leaders, congregants, and fellowship who are afraid to attend.

The Union for Reform Judaism expressed similar concerns - atop concerns unique to Jewish congregations in recent years:

An enforcement action at a URJ synagogue will have a profoundly disruptive effect on their ability to fulfill their religious and prophetic mandate. It would be expected to fray the social bonds within the congregation and inhibit the core value of creating experiences that strengthen a vibrant Jewish life. It also will catalyze a decline in worship attendance, which could impact a synagogue's ability to hold prayer services with the common quorum for public prayer. Synagogue members already are on high alert due to recurring, violent, and high-profile antisemitic events; the infiltration into a sacred space of armed immigration enforcement officers would be highly triggering of emotional distress, which is antithetical to its religious mission. An enforcement action during worship or a religious ceremony will stand in direct contrast to URJ synagogues' mission to serve as "a house of prayer for all peoples" (Isaiah 56:7), without regard to demographics or status.

In addition to the specific religious arguments, the groups also said the sudden implementation of the rule violates the Administrative Procedures Act, which requires federal agencies, even those under the control of foreign-born billionaires, requires a comment period for proposed major changes to the way the government operates.

The suit asks a judge to rule that the new edict violates the religious organizations' rights and to order a preliminary and eventually permanent injunction against it.

Among the groups who filed the suit: the Mennonite Church, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Central Atlantic Conference United Church of Christ, Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas,the Episcopal Church, Friends General Conference, General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), General Commission on Religion And Race of the United Methodist Church, Latino Christian National Network, Massachusetts Council of Churches, the New York Annual Conference Of the United Methodist Church, North Carolina Council of Churches, the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church, the Rabbinical Assembly, Reconstructing Judaism, the Union for Reform Judaism, Unitarian Universalist Association.