A federal judge on Friday sided with the Trump administration in a battle over a policy that could lead to more immigration raids in churches.
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich ruled that the more than two dozen faith groups that challenged the policy lacked legal standing to bring the case since they haven’t been significantly impacted by its implementation.
“She found that ... only a handful of immigration enforcement actions have been conducted in or around churches or other houses of worship and that the evidence at this point doesn’t show ‘that places of worship are being singled out as special targets,’” according to The Associated Press.
An attorney for the religious organizations told the AP that they’re still considering what to do next.
ICE raids in churches
The lawsuit from 27 Christian and Jewish groups centers on the Trump administration’s decision to allow ICE agents to conduct raids in houses of worship and other sensitive locations without securing preapproval.
Administration officials have argued that the policy change is not a big deal since ICE raids in churches have been permitted in some form for decades.
But religious leaders and others have criticized the more permissive rules, claiming the Trump administration’s approach interferes with religious freedom.
“Congregations are experiencing decreases in worship attendance and social services participation due to fear of immigration enforcement action,” the lawsuit from the faith groups said, as the Deseret News previously reported.
In her Friday ruling, Friedrich acknowledged that worship attendance has been lower this winter, but said the faith groups had not proven that the shift stems from the updated policy on ICE raids in sensitive locations.
“That evidence suggests that congregants are staying home to avoid encountering ICE in their own neighborhoods, not because churches or synagogues are locations of elevated risk,” she wrote, per the AP.
Public opinion on ICE raids
As a result of the ruling, the Trump administration is free to leave its current policy on ICE raids in place.
But officials will likely still tread carefully moving forward, since polling shows that most Americans don’t support doing immigration enforcement in sacred spaces.
A Pew Research Center survey fielded in February and March found that two-thirds of U.S. adults (65%) believe immigration arrests should not be allowed in places of worship.
Americans were similarly opposed to the idea of raids in schools and hospitals.
“By contrast, majorities say arrests of immigrants in the U.S. illegally should be allowed in the following places: protests or rallies (66%), homes (63%) or workplaces (54%),” Pew reported.