3 of the largest Jewish denominations are suing the Trump administration over immigration raids
During Trump’s first term, a number of synagogues sheltered immigrants at risk of deportation
Undocumented Mexican immigrants are photographed while being processed at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement center in Phoenix, Ariz., April 28, 2010. (John Moore/Getty Images)
(JTA) — Three major Jewish religious denominations are suing the Department of Homeland Security to stop immigration raids at houses of worship.
The suit, filed Tuesday in federal court in Washington, D.C., was brought by dozens of religious groups including the governing bodies of the Reform, Conservative and Reconstructionist movements. The other groups represent a range of Christian denominations. They are challenging the Trump administration’s reversal of an order that prohibited Immigration and Customs Enforcement from operating in “sensitive locations” such as churches and synagogues.
The order means that undocumented immigrants fearing arrest can no longer seek sanctuary at houses of worship. Tuesday’s lawsuit hopes to restore the “sensitive locations” policy.
“The new policy thus greenlights enforcement actions that could interrupt religious services in furtherance of the Administration’s mass deportation plans,” reads a press release about the lawsuit, which was filed by Georgetown University’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection.
Through the order, the statement added, “the government is interfering with their religious activities and their ability to fulfill their religious mandate to welcome and serve immigrants.”
During Trump’s first term, a number of synagogues sheltered immigrants at risk of deportation, and a broad range of Jewish groups spoke out or took action against his immigration restrictions. Some of those coalitions are mobilizing now, as Trump places a broad immigration crackdown at the center of his agenda. Tuesday’s lawsuit follows a letter signed by dozens of groups — including the leadership of the same three movements — opposing Trump’s planned mass deportations.
“Throughout Jewish history, we have known the hardship and persecution of living as immigrants,” Rabbi Rick Jacobs, who helms the Union for Reform Judaism, said in a statement. “We are inspired by those experiences across the generations, as well as the repeated biblical commandment to welcome the stranger, to ensure that our congregations remain places where immigrants — including those who may be undocumented — can enter to worship, seek pastoral counsel, learn, socialize, obtain needed services and support, or to act as caregivers for those who do.”
The lawsuit comes on the heels of another suit in which HIAS, the Jewish refugee aid and advocacy group, partnered with other resettlement agencies to challenge the Trump administration’s suspension of refugee resettlement.
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