Coalition Files Notice After Reports Emerge of Renewed Threats of Immigration Raids
Boston, MA – A coalition of faith-based organizations and houses of worship filed a notice with the U.S. District Court of Massachusetts in New England Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, et al., v. Department of Homeland Security, et al., after multiple reports indicated that the Trump-Vance administration is preparing immigration enforcement operations inside churches with Spanish-speaking congregations and other houses of worship during the upcoming holiday season. Pastors in New England, Georgia, and North Carolina have described visits from federal agents requesting names and addresses of congregants. U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) attorneys have also reportedly held internal briefings referencing a nationwide holiday plan targeting religious communities.
“If these reports are true, it is outrageous that the administration would so blatantly seek to undermine the freedom to worship freely as we enter an important time for many faiths. This brings an even greater urgency to our case and our work on behalf of people and communities,” said Skye Perryman, President and CEO of Democracy Forward. “The reports circulating this week are alarming and incompatible with our Constitution. We are taking swift action to ensure that the protections already recognized by the court are upheld and that faith communities can gather and worship, free from government coercion.”
Democracy Forward is seeking immediate action on behalf of New England Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Greater Milwaukee Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Southwest California Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Southwestern Texas Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; Sierra Pacific Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America; San Francisco Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends; Pacific Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends; North Pacific Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends; American Baptist Churches USA; Alliance of Baptists; and Metropolitan Community Churches.
Earlier this year, Democracy Forward obtained a preliminary injunction in another case — Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends v. DHS — which blocked implementation of the Trump-Vance administration’s policy that permitted immigration agents to enter houses of worship. That order, which is limited to plaintiffs in that case, recognized the deep constitutional harms posed by enforcement in sacred spaces, remains in effect.
Read the notice here and the exhibits here.
More information on the case is available here.
A Spanish version of this press release can be found here.
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Democracy Forward Foundation is a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy, public education, and regulatory engagement. For more information, please visit www.democracyforward.org.