PC(USA) joins religious freedom lawsuit challenging ICE enforcement actions in churches

LOUISVILLE — The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) is among more than two dozen plaintiffs in a lawsuit filed Tuesday in response to a recission of the Department of Homeland Security’s “sensitive locations” policy.

That policy had restricted Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) from conducting immigration raids, arrests and other enforcement actions at houses of worship.

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The case, Mennonite Church USA et al. v. United States Department of Homeland Security et al., was filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) at Georgetown Law. View the lawsuit here.

A description of the PC(USA)’s ministry and mission is on page 15 of the lawsuit: “Guided by their call to welcome the stranger and belief in the inherent dignity of all people, PC(USA) actively advocates for and works toward more just immigration laws and processes.”

Speaking on behalf of the General Assembly, the Stated Clerk and Executive Director of the Interim Unified Agency of the PC(USA), the Rev. Jihyun Oh, said, “The policy statement ‘God Alone is the Lord of the Conscience’ adopted by the 200th General Assembly (1988) of the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) sought to ‘articulate the conditions of the civil society necessary to the free and effective conduct of the church’s mission and ministry…’ because these are a ‘vital dimension of Presbyterian witness and responsibility’ both for the free exercise of religion in our country and for the common good.”

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“The policy statement affirmed that ‘the free exercise of religion’ must be understood to include and protect the right to practice faith in public and private as well as the right to believe….’ This is what the current legal action aims to do, to proclaim that the practice of faith is lived out not just in a worship service but in ministry, including public witness and acts of justice, that are expressions of the worship with the whole of our lives.”

“Plaintiffs represent millions of Americans across dozens of denominations rooted in the Jewish and Christian faiths,” said Kelsi Corkran, lead counsel for the plaintiffs and ICAP Supreme Court Director. “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.”

“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,” Corkran said. “We look forward to presenting our case in court.”

During an online press conference hosted Tuesday by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection at Georgetown Law, four faith leaders joined Corkran to discuss the impact of the recission of the sensitive locations policy. Jim Simpson, the executive director of the Center on Faith and Justice at Georgetown University, emceed the 50-minute Zoom call, which was attended by reporters from around the country.

“We don’t join this lightly,” said the Rev. Iris de León-Hartshorn, associate executive director of Operations and as director of Human Resources at the Mennonite Church USA. “We recognize our practice of loving our neighbor outweighs our traditional stance of nonresistance.”

“The Bible is clear and unambiguous on the obligation of Christians to welcome, serve and protect the undocumented immigrant in our midst,” said the Rev. Carlos Malave, President of the Latino Christian National Network. “We affirm God’s mandate to safeguard and nurture all children of God — no exception. We declare our unequivocal opposition to any attempt by the government to interfere with the free exercise of religion by members of our congregations.”

Rabbi Rick Jacobs, president of Union for Reform Judaism, noted the command to love the stranger is repeated 36 times in the Hebrew Bible “to make sure we internalize that core commitment.” Many congregations host meal programs and ESL classes and provide shelter to people who need it, Jacobs said. “We don’t ask, ‘Are you an immigrant or native born?’ We will not be silent amidst policies that jeopardize our congregations’ holy work.”

“In the kingdom of God as we understand it, immigrants and refugees are not at the edges, fearful and alone. Their struggles reveal the heart of God,” said Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe of The Episcopal Church. “We cannot worship freely if some of us live in fear.”

“Even Jesus himself identifies as a stranger,” Rowe noted. “We must proclaim, particularly in this time, that all are welcome in our places of worship. This seems a basic human right, one we are called to by the God we serve.”

During a question-and-answer session that followed the brief presentations offered by the four faith leaders, Jacobs said he’s heard from congregations offering food programs that “fewer people are coming, because to come puts you at risk. People who feel particularly vulnerable feel it’s not smart to enter places that might be targeted” for enforcement by officers with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. “There’s no doubt this is already having an impact.”

“It can go to the heart of a family,” said de León-Hartshorn. “They are afraid to go and get services that have been provided to them before.”

If the court grants the plaintiffs the relief the lawsuit seeks and the administration ignores the court order, “We will certainly continue to advocate for the rights of all people in this country to worship freely,” Rowe said. “We will not stop in our efforts to make sure people are safe and can worship freely in those places.”

“A majority of our congregations are really engaged in their communities with immigrants and the most vulnerable, because that’s what Jesus calls us to do,” de León-Hartshorn said. “Service and ministry are at the center for the Mennonite Church. It’s not just going to worship.”

The original Hebrew in Moses’ famous quote found repeatedly in Exodus — “let us go” — has at its root, “so we can worship freely,” according to Jacobs. “Something so fundamental is at risk,” Jacobs said. “We cannot be leaders of faith communities and not speak up and join together in this lawsuit.”

“This is a beautiful moment of ecumenical strength,” Jacobs said. “Let them go, so that they may worship freely.”