Interfaith Alliance Supports Lawsuit Over ICE Arrests at Houses of Worship

Interfaith Alliance, a national leader in defending religious freedom and multi-faith democracy, welcomes and supports today’s lawsuit by several Quaker groups suing the Trump administration over its decision to allow federal immigration authorities to arrest migrants in churches and other houses of worship. 

The Quaker groups are represented by Democracy Forward, a close partner of Interfaith Alliance. Democracy Forward President and CEO Skye Perryman serves as the chair of the policy committee on Interfaith Alliance’s board of directors. 

Rev. Paul Brandeis Raushenbush, president and CEO of Interfaith Alliance, released the following statement: 

“As a Baptist minister and president of an organization dedicated to religious freedom, I welcome this lawsuit and urge the federal judiciary to quickly block Trump’s attack on houses of worship.

Nobody should fear for the safety of themselves and their families when going to worship. This order is intrusive government overreach that violates  the sanctity of our sanctuaries. Our tradition of religious freedom in the United States demands that the government not inhibit the free exercise of religion. 

It’s not just migrants who are at risk of losing their religious freedom rights under the Trump administration, but Christians and people of faith across the United States who are called to care for immigrants. The Trump administration has dangerously put pastors and lay leaders at risk of being prosecuted for simply carrying out their churches’ Matthew 25 obligation to welcome immigrants.

The Trump administration and U.S. Supreme Court often highlight religious freedom as a priority. Today’s lawsuit challenges the sincerity of those beliefs.”