Judge declines to preemptively block immigration enforcement in places of worship

WASHINGTON (OSV News) -- A federal judge on April 11 declined to block the Trump administration from carrying out Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions at what are seen as sensitive locations, including houses of worship.

A coalition of more than two dozen religious organizations filed a lawsuit in February to challenge a Trump administration policy that rescinded long-standing restrictions on arrests at sensitive locations, also including schools and hospitals, with exceptions for public safety or national security threats.

Judge Dabney L. Freidrich of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia said the challengers had not provided sufficient evidence that their houses of worship faced a “credible threat” of enforcement actions.

"Absent evidence of specific directives to immigration officers to target plaintiffs’ places of worship, or a pattern of enforcement actions, the Court finds no credible threat of imminent Enforcement," Freidrich wrote, adding that the plaintiffs therefore lacked standing to block the policy prior to enforcement.

The plaintiffs would have standing, she argued, if they provided evidence their "places of worship are being singled out as special targets" for ICE arrests.

In a separate lawsuit, another federal judge in February did block immigration agents from conducting enforcement operations in houses of worship for Quakers and a handful of other religious groups limited to those who filed the suit.

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was not a party in either lawsuit. However, some bishops have criticized the changes to the sanctuary policy, including Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas.