United Methodists Join Lawsuit Challenging Immigration Raids in Houses of Worship

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Three United Methodist regional conferences and a church-wide agency have joined two dozen other religious organizations in a federal lawsuit challenging the removal of protection from immigration raids in houses of worship.

The General Commission on Religion and Race and New York, Western North Carolina and North Georgia annual (regional) conferences have joined the 80-page lawsuit filed Feb. 11 in the District of Columbia federal court. The suit was brought against the Department of Homeland Security and its new secretary, Kristi Noem, Customs and Border Protection and its acting commissioner Pete Flores and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and its acting director Caleb Vitello.

The crux of the lawsuit is the recission of an internal policy that designated houses of worship, along with schools and hospitals, as "sensitive locations" where Homeland Security, Border Patrol and ICE agents were restrained from conducting raids and arrests. The suit says in part, "DHS’s longstanding 'sensitive locations' (or 'protected areas') policy provided that Immigration and Customs Enforcement ('ICE') and Customs and Border Protection ('CBP') would do so at or near places of worship only under exigent circumstances or with prior written, high-level supervisory approval."

Immigration enforcement officers have begun arresting persons suspected of being undocumented in church parking lots, warned Alba Jaramillo, co-executive director of Immigration Law & Justice Network during a church-wide webinar, "Solidarity with the Sojourner" held Feb. 10, the day before the federal lawsuit was filed. Originally known as Justice for Our Neighbors (JFON), ILJ Network began as a project of the United Methodist General Board of Global Ministries and has become an independent nonprofit service.

United Methodist Insight asked UMC-related plaintiffs why they joined the lawsuit.

The Rev. Dr. Giovanni Arroyo, top executive of the General Commission on Religion and Race, said, "GCORR chose to join this lawsuit because we believe the enforcement of the Sensitive Locations Policy undermines the core values of justice and equity that guide our work. This policy fosters fear, deters access to essential services, and disproportionately impacts immigrant communities. As an agency dedicated to racial justice within The United Methodist Church, we cannot stand by while policies that contradict our faith’s call to love our neighbors and protect the vulnerable remain unchallenged. Our commitment to creating a just and inclusive society compels us to take action alongside affected communities and faith leaders in pursuit of policies that uphold dignity and human rights."

Western North Carolina Conference Bishop Kenneth H. Carter Jr. said in the lawsuit's announcement, "The Church has long been a sanctuary for all and Church property is a sacred space where the faithful gather to worship, serve, and find community in Christ without fear.  The recent rescission of the sensitive locations policy and pronouncements of the administration have placed our congregations at imminent risk of enforcement actions in these spaces, which would defile our sacred spaces and disrupt worship and ministry. The Western North Carolina Conference of The United Methodist Church stands in this lawsuit to affirm that our churches must remain the dwelling places of God, who has set them apart for peace and sanctuary, where the rights of all who enter are upheld, including the rights of the Church to fulfill its mission.”

The lawsuit's introduction says, "Plaintiffs in this challenge are 12 national denominational bodies and representatives, 4 regional denominational bodies, and 11 denominational and interdenominational associations, all rooted in the Jewish and Christian faiths. Plaintiffs and their members are Baptist, Brethren, Conservative Jewish, Episcopalian, Evangelical, Mennonite, Quaker, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Reconstructionist Jewish, Reform Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, United Methodist, Zion Methodist, and more."

The lawsuit continues: "They bring this suit unified on a fundamental belief: Every human being, regardless of birthplace, is a child of God worthy of dignity, care, and love.1 Welcoming the stranger, or immigrant, is thus a central precept of their faith practices."

The plaintiffs' lead attorney, Kelsi Corkran of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, said in the press release, “Plaintiffs represent millions of Americans across dozens of denominations rooted in the Jewish and Christian faiths. They have come together to file this suit because their scripture, teaching, and traditions offer irrefutable unanimity on their religious obligation to embrace and serve the refugees, asylum seekers, and immigrants in their midst without regard to documentation or legal status."

Corkran continued: "The Department of Homeland Security's abrupt decision to rescind the sensitive locations policy and subject places of worship to immigration enforcement action is a clear violation of Plaintiffs' rights under the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. We look forward to presenting our case in court.”

Cynthia B. Astle serves as Editor of United Methodist Insight, which she founded in 2011 as a media channel to amplify news and views of marginalized and under-served United Methodists.