Quaker congregations sue Trump administration over immigration raids at places of worship

A coalition of Quaker religious groups has filed a lawsuit in Maryland federal court to block the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s abrupt policy change allowing federal immigration officials to enter places of worship to carry out immigration enforcement actions.

The policy is already sowing fear among pro-immigrant congregations and has led to the cancellation of religious services out of fear, the lawsuit claims, while alleging that Trump’s policy violates the First Amendment and other protections.

The plaintiffs, represented in the legal challenge by Democracy Forward, include the Philadelphia Congregation of the Religious Society of Friends, the New England Congregation of the Religious Society of Friends, the Baltimore Congregation of the Religious Society of Friends, the Adelphi Congregation of Friends of the Religious Society of Friends, and the Richmond Congregation of Friends of the Religious Society of Friends.

Democracy Forward notes that for decades the United States has protected sensitive sites, including houses of worship, from immigration enforcement activities out of concern that such activities prevent people from receiving essential services and participating in essential activities, such as worship.

Despite these long-standing protections, the Trump administration’s DHS has changed course and immigration enforcement operations can now take place in protected areas such as churches and religious ceremonies like weddings and funerals, limited only by DHS’s instruction to use “common sense.”

The suit alleges that the presence of armed government agents in or near houses of worship disrupts the plaintiffs’ ability to freely associate and worship. The suit also alleges that the policy threatens the safety and well-being of congregants and undermines the trust between religious communities and government authorities.

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