More than two-dozen religious groups sue to block ICE raids

The 27 plaintiffs on Tuesday asked a Washington, D.C. federal court to protect their houses of worship from raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The plaintiffs come from Baptist, Jewish, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Evangelical, Quaker, Methodist, and Universalist traditions. All of them feel called to minister to those in need, including individuals in the United States illegally, and seek to protect their houses of worship from ICE raids, the lawsuit said.

Have ICE officials actually raided churches? ICE for decades refrained from raiding houses of worship when rounding up illegal immigrants, the church groups said in the lawsuit. But ever since President Donald Trump took office, ICE has grown increasingly aggressive in its deportation efforts. In one instance in Georgia, ICE agents raided a church to arrest Wilson Velásquez, whom authorities had previously equipped with an ankle bracelet, according to the lawsuit. After Velásquez’s arrest, Luis Ortiz, the pastor of the church, tried to reassure his congregation but could see the fear in their eyes following the raid, the lawsuit states.

What’s the legal argument for excluding churches from ICE raids? The plaintiffs argue that they possess a First Amendment right not to have their houses of worship raided. They also argue that the Religious Freedom Restoration Act prevents the government from interfering with a religious institution’s services unless it can prove that it has a compelling government interest to do so and that it is using the least restricting means of achieving that interest.

What does the government have to say? DHS Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs Tricia McLaughlin told WORLD on Tuesday that federal agents were actually acting to protect sensitive locations like schools and places of worship by preventing criminals and illegal immigrants from using them as safe havens. The recent change of policy regarding sensitive locations allowed law enforcement personnel to do their jobs, she said.

Dig deeper: Read Onize Oduah’s report in World Tour about international aid organizations grappling with a Trump administration funding freeze.