Judge blocks ICE enforcement in some houses of worship

Sign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Judge Chuang agreed that the Trump administration’s directive has “chilled” participation and worship among their congregations, while the Department of Homeland Security has “provided no facts demonstrating how its interests, in increased immigration enforcement or otherwise, would be materially and adversely impacted” by temporarily blocking its policy as a legal challenge plays out. A federal judge is temporarily blocking ICE from patrolling some houses of worship following a lawsuit from mostly Quaker groups against policy that allows immigration enforcement in churches “For decades, the government has recognized that everyone — no matter their immigration status — should be able to attend houses of worship without fear of a warrantless government raid,” according to a statement from Skye Perryman, CEO of Democracy Forward, which represented plaintiffs in the lawsuit. ICE agents and federal law enforcement agencies have launched high-profile raids and enforcement actions across the country, fulfilling Trump’s campaign pledge to launch the largest “mass deportation operation” in American history. Shortly after Trump’s inauguration, a DHS spokesperson said “criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest.” Trump and his allies argued arrests would target immigrants who committed high-level crimes, but the administration later said it was treating all immigrants in the U.S. without legal permission as “criminals.” The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, Church World Service, Lutheran Community Services Northwest, among others, are also suing the Trump administration to reverse the president’s abrupt suspension of tens of millions of dollars in funding for refugee resettlement, which has stranded thousands of vulnerable people in war-torn countries despite their clearance for entry.