Press Release
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.”
Transcript
“Religious Liberty” Commissioner’s Attack on Separation of Church and State Shows Dangerous Intent to Repress Constitutional Freedoms
At a hearing this week of President Trump’s “Religious Liberty Commission”, the commission’s chair, Texas Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick, said that “the separation of church and state is the biggest lie that’s been told in America since our founding.”
Interfaith Alliance Applauds Court Ruling Protecting Houses of Worship from Partisan Politics
Interfaith Alliance is a leading advocate for multi-faith democracy and healthy boundaries between religion and government. It was among the founding organizations of a national sign-on letter, joined by more than 1,800 nonprofit organizations, voicing opposition to the proposed settlement agreement in National Religious Broadcasters v. Bessent, a case in which the Trump administration and a coalition of religious broadcasters sought to create an effective exemption to the Johnson Amendment, the 70-year-old law that bars 501(c)(3) organizations, including houses of worship, from endorsing or opposing political candidates. Had the settlement been approved, religious leaders would have been able to make partisan endorsements from the pulpit without risking their tax-exempt status. Today, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Texas dismissed the case, finding it lacked jurisdiction.
Interfaith Alliance Continues to Oppose Harmful Anti-LGBTQ Medical Practices Masquerading as Care
Interfaith Alliance is a leading advocate for multi-faith democracy and healthy boundaries between religion and government. It joined a friend-of-the-court brief from religious organizations in Chiles v. Salazar, in support of Colorado’s right to protect LGBTQ+ youth from harmful, discredited “conversion therapy” practices.