The Alliance of Baptists has joined a coalition of national faith organizations in filing a federal lawsuit to challenge a new Department of Homeland Security policy that authorizes immigration enforcement at and near houses of worship. The lawsuit, filed today in the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts, asserts that the policy violates religious freedom and constitutional protections.
For decades, federal policy recognized that immigration enforcement in or near churches, mosques, synagogues, and other sacred spaces undermines religious freedom and community safety. Earlier this year, those longstanding protections were abruptly reversed, granting immigration agents broad discretion to enter “sensitive locations” such as places of worship.
Rev. Lisa Dunson, President of the Alliance of Baptists Board of Directors, said: “These sanctuaries have long offered welcome, safety, and spiritual nourishment to all. To invade them with the threat of state violence is a moral failure and a betrayal of constitutional and sacred values alike.”
The complaint documents recent incidents in which federal agents conducted enforcement actions outside churches, at preschool pick-up lines, and even during worship services, triggering fear and discouraging attendance. The plaintiffs are seeking a nationwide injunction to prohibit immigration enforcement in houses of worship absent a warrant or exigent circumstances.
The Alliance of Baptists stands alongside American Baptist Churches USA, multiple regional synods of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Quaker meetings, and Metropolitan Community Churches in this suit. The legal team representing this coalition includes the Democracy Forward Foundation, the Washington Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, and Gilbert LLP.
Click here to read the full press release from Democracy Forward.
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