Quakers Sue Trump Admin Over Policy Allowing ICE Raids on Churches
Several Quaker congregations are suing the Trump administration over an order lifting a previous policy that had curtailed Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents from conducting raids in “sensitive locations,” including schools, hospitals and houses of worship.
The Quaker groups filed their suit on Monday in a Maryland federal court alleging that the policy change within the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) directly affects their churches and the houses of worship of other faiths, in violation of their First Amendment religious freedoms.
“The very threat of that [immigration] enforcement deters congregants from attending services, especially members of immigrant communities,” the lawsuit states, noting that attending such services is part of the “guarantee of religious liberty” enshrined in the U.S. Constitution.
In an executive order issued in his first week of being president, Donald Trump rescinded the nearly 14-year policy limiting raids on places of worship and other sensitive locations. Several religious organizations across the country have condemned the new policy, which now allows ICE agents to storm into places of worship to detain undocumented immigrants as part of Trump’s draconian mass deportation plan. The Quakers appear to be the first religious group to have filed a lawsuit seeking to block the policy.
The litigation, which was filed by Democracy Forward on behalf of five Quaker congregations, notes that there are “specific procedures” that are typically followed when policies like these are changed. The Trump administration did not follow that process on this policy, the lawsuit contends.
https://truthout.org/articles/quakers-sue-trump-admin-over-policy-allowing-ice-raids-on-churches/
Since when has the orange slime cared about the Constitution?
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