Religious Leaders Take Separation Of Church And State Seriously And Sue The Department Of Homeland Security

Bishop Marianne Budd isn’t the only religious leader who has noticed that Trump’s campaign promises are in conflict with the Gospel. The separation of church and state is usually invoked to argue against the state being turned into a religious outpost, but its reversal should also hold true — the government shouldn’t be able to target places of religious worship to harvest and imprison or deport the undocumented, right? That’s the argument, and a group of religious leaders are willing to go to court over their beliefs. Latin Times has coverage:

A group of over 25 religious organizations has filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contesting a policy change by the Trump administration that allows immigration enforcement actions at schools and houses of worship. Prior to this change, DHS agents were generally required to obtain special authorization to conduct enforcement actions at designated “sensitive locations.”

The plaintiffs, representing a broad spectrum of Christian and Jewish denominations, argue that the policy infringes upon their religious freedom and deters participation in programs in houses of worship.

Let’s be frank, few things chill the impulse to pray and learn like knowing that officers are going to pepper you with questions just for practicing your faith. Even if the entire congregation had their papers, there is a non-zero chance that each interaction with an officer could be your last — there’s a whole slew of unarmed people who’ve been killed by police during routine traffic stops. It was rough enough to see Sonya Massey getting shot after saying Jesus’s name; it’s only a matter of time before flooding churches with ICE results in something similar. This also isn’t a huge ask — Biden-era protections had carve outs that respected sanctuaries. Trump’s current policy suggests that there’s no place that the government can’t put their hands in. What happened to Republicans being small state advocates?

Quakers, Bishop Budd, and Pope Francis have been vocal about protecting their flock from government reach. Given Trump’s recent lamentation about anti-Christian violence and bias, this would be a great time for him to tell his administration to let the faithful practice their religion as the Founders intended: without the state eyeing their pews.

Religious Organizations Including Jews, Catholics, Mennonites, File Lawsuit To Prevent Immigration Raids In Houses Of Worship [Latin Times]

Earlier: And If You Look This Way, You’ll See The Dead Body Of The Separation Of Church And State

Chris Williams became a social media manager and assistant editor for Above the Law in June 2021. Prior to joining the staff, he moonlighted as a minor Memelord™ in the Facebook group Law School Memes for Edgy T14s.  He endured Missouri long enough to graduate from Washington University in St. Louis School of Law. He is a former boatbuilder who cannot swim, a published author on critical race theory, philosophy, and humor, and has a love for cycling that occasionally annoys his peers. You can reach him by email at cwilliams@abovethelaw.com and by tweet at @WritesForRent.

The post Religious Leaders Take Separation Of Church And State Seriously And Sue The Department Of Homeland Security appeared first on Above the Law.