A federal appeals court has allowed a coalition of religious organizations to pursue its challenge to the Trump administration’s decision to lift restrictions on immigration enforcement at houses of worship. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 Tuesday that the religious organizations had sufficiently demonstrated standing at this stage of the case, reversing a lower court decision that found the threat of enforcement was not sufficiently imminent. Circuit Judge Florence Pan, a Biden appointee, joined by U.S.
Circuit Judge Robert Wilkins, an Obama appointee, wrote the majority opinion. The case was sent back to U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee, to reconsider the request for a preliminary injunction.
Circuit Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee, dissented. Newsweek has contacted the Department of Homeland Security and Immigration and Customs Enforcement for comment. The ruling does not decide whether the administration’s policy is lawful, nor does it prohibit ICE from carrying out enforcement actions at churches.
The legal disputes follow the administration’s elimination of protections that had generally discouraged immigration arrests and other enforcement activity at sensitive locations. Religious organizations challenging the change say immigration enforcement in and around churches can deter some people from attending worship services and participating in ministries. The administration has argued that immigration officers should retain discretion to enforce federal law rather than be governed by categorical restrictions on particular locations.
On January 20, 2025, the first day of Donald Trump’s second term, acting Homeland Security Secretary Benjamine Huffman rescinded federal guidance restricting immigration enforcement in or near sensitive locations, including houses of worship. For more than three decades, federal policy placed restrictions on immigration enforcement at locations considered sensitive. Beginning in 1993, immigration officials were directed to avoid apprehensions and investigations near schools, houses of worship, funerals and other religious ceremonies.
Then-Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas revised the guidance in 2021, requiring agents to obtain prior headquarters approval before carrying out enforcement actions at those locations. Twenty-seven Christian and Jewish organizations, led by Mennonite Church USA, sued DHS and other federal immigration agencies, arguing that ending the restrictions interfered with their religious exercise and freedom of association. Their claims include alleged violations of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, the First Amendment, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
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