ICE accuses churches of ‘fearmongering by distorting reality,’ forces federal judges to rip into Trump administration

Federal judges are laying into the Trump administration, saying its policies on immigration enforcement around churches contradict its own stance on religious freedom. Just last month, the administration condemned anti-ICE protestors for disrupting a church service, stating that interfering with the “right to pray in peace” would have serious consequences. They even prosecuted Don Lemon, a reporter, claiming he had a part in it.

Now, ironically, the very government pledging to protect worship and prevent intimidation is facing accusations of violating those rights on a massive scale. Politico reported that the administration has actually rolled back three-decade-old restrictions on ICE operations at or near churches. They’ve even barred clergy members from offering “pastoral care” to people held in temporary detention facilities. 

It’s a significant shift that has religious organizations, representing thousands of congregations from various faiths, suing the government over these policy updates. Thankfully, some federal judges are actually ruling in their favor!

This is just hypocritical

Earlier this month, U.S. District Judge Robert Gettleman found that restrictions ICE put in place at its Chicago-area holding facility “substantially burdened” the rights of clergy members. He ordered ICE to allow them limited access to the facility to “offer ashes and Communion” on Ash Wednesday. 

The broader legal fights are centered on the administration’s “Day One” order, which completely lifted those decades-old restrictions on ICE enforcement at or near churches, hospitals, and schools. These used to be “bright line rules,” but now local ICE officials are simply told to use “a healthy dose of common sense.” 

Religious groups are saying this change has really hurt attendance at houses of worship that welcome immigrants. They report that the threat of enforcement has chilled their public speech, made them rethink putting immigrants in leadership positions, and even forced them to consider new security measures to protect their congregants. It’s a tough situation for these communities.

DHS, however, says that elected officials and clergy members are “fearmongering by distorting reality” and doing “a great disservice to our country.” They believe that those who are here legally and aren’t breaking other laws have nothing to fear. The spokesperson added that the administration is “protecting our schools and places of worship by preventing criminal aliens and gang members from exploiting these locations and taking safe haven there.”

In court, the administration’s argument is pretty straightforward: ICE has conducted very few enforcement actions at churches, so any fears that they might do so regularly are not legally actionable. But federal appeals court judges in Washington, D.C., seemed pretty skeptical during recent arguments. 

Judge Robert Wilkins questioned the logic, asking, “We’re going to remove a barrier to enforcing at places of worship, but the court should presume that by doing so, even though we’re enforcing everywhere, we’re not going to enforce at places of worship? Make that make sense.” Judge Florence Pan even suggested that requiring ICE to get warrants for church operations would make houses of worship “safer than your home.”