A court order put a temporary pause to the migratory arrests and raids in places of worship of religious groups in the US such as the Quakers, a network of Baptist churches in the south and a SIJ temple in California.
A federal judge issued an order on Monday that prohibits immigration agents from carrying out operations in places of worship for Quakers and some other religious groups.
The District Judge Theodore Chang determined that the measure of the government of President Donald Trump could violate the religious freedom of these groups, so he must remain blocked while the challenge is carried out.
The preliminary interdiction of the Judge based in Maryland applies only to the plaintiffs, including a network of Baptist churches based in Georgia and a SIJ temple in California.
The groups filed the lawsuit after the federal government set aside the policies of the National Security Department (DHS for its initials in English) that limited the places where the arrests of migrants could be carried out, at a time when Trump seeks to fulfill his campaign promises to carry out large -scale deportations.
The change in policy indicates that field agents can carry out immigration operations with “common sense” and “discretion” in places of worship without the approval of a supervisor.
The lawyers of the plaintiff argue that the new DHS directive departs from a policy that the Government maintained for 30 years against immigration operations in “protected areas” or “delicate places.”
A coalition of chance congregations of several states, including Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia, interposed the complaint against the DHS and its owner, Kristi Noem, on January 27, less than a week after I would announce the change in politics.
Many immigrants are afraid to attend religious services while the government applies the new rule, the lawyers of the congregations said in a judicial document.
“It is a fear that people feel throughout the country,” said the lawyer of the plaintiffs, Bradley Girard, during a hearing a few weeks ago. “People do not appear, and as a result, the plaintiffs are suffering.”
Government lawyers claim that the plaintiff asks the court to interfere with security activities based on mere speculation.
“The plaintiffs have not provided evidence indicating that any of their religious organizations have been affected,” said the lawyer of the Department of Justice, Kristina Wolfe, to the judge, who was appointed the bank by President Barack Obama.
More than twenty Christian and Jewish groups representing millions of Americans have also filed a similar demand in Washington DC.
The plaintiffs in the case of Maryland are represented by the Democracy Forward Foundation, whose lawyers requested an order of the judge to block the DHS policy nationwide.
“The new DHS policy grants the authority to enter anywhere in worship throughout the country, regardless of religious beliefs,” the lawyers wrote.
Government lawyers say that immigration operations have been allowed for decades in delicate places, including places of worship. The only change in politics is that the approval of a supervisor is no longer required, they added.