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The Unitarian Universalist Association (UUA) joined more than two dozen Christian and Jewish religious denominations and associations on February 11 in filing a lawsuit against the Trump administration’s new policy that allows immigration raids, arrests, and other enforcement actions at houses of worship.
Filed in federal district court in Washington, D.C., the case, Mennonite Church USA et al. v. United States Department of Homeland Security et al., was filed on behalf of the religious organizations by the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP) at Georgetown University Law Center.
“As Unitarian Universalists, fighting for justice and liberation for all people is at the heart of our faith tradition, which recognizes the spark of the divine inherent in every person,” said UUA Executive Vice President Carey McDonald. “Our sacred spaces must continue to offer sanctuary to those who face oppression, violence, or alienation, including immigrant communities.”
Throughout human history, houses of worship have been regarded as protected spaces for persons who entered them for sanctuary. For years, including during the first administration of President Donald J. Trump, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) restricted any immigration enforcement in or near places of worship. But on January 20, 2025, the day Trump was inaugurated for his second term, a DHS memo rescinded that “sensitive locations” protection for houses of worship as well as for schools and hospitals.
During the first week of the current Trump Administration, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) arrested over 4,500 people, with at least one enforcement action occurring on Sunday at a church in Georgia during a worship service, according to the lawsuit.
The suit asserts that subjecting places of worship to ICE enforcement actions without a judicial warrant substantially burdens their right to exercise their religious beliefs in violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). Such action interferes with the religious activities of the plaintiffs and their ability to fulfill their religious mandate to welcome and serve immigrants, the plaintiffs assert.
“Plaintiffs and their members are Baptist, Brethren, Conservative Jewish, Episcopalian, Evangelical, Mennonite, Quaker, Pentecostal, Presbyterian, Reconstructionist Jewish, Reform Jewish, Unitarian Universalist, United Methodist, Zion Methodist, and more,” the complaint states. “They bring this suit unified on a fundamental belief: Every human being, regardless of birthplace, is a child of God worthy of dignity, care, and love. Welcoming the stranger, or immigrant, is thus a central precept of their faith practices.”
“Our sacred spaces must continue to offer sanctuary to those who face oppression, violence, or alienation, including immigrant communities.”
“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. We look forward to presenting our case in court.”
Other plaintiffs include the Mennonite Church USA, the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Episcopal Church, the Union for Reform Judaism, the Latino Christian National Network, and the Central Atlantic Conference United Church of Christ.
In a statement, the UUA said it is proud to be a plaintiff, adding, “We join this multifaith coalition to challenge the ending of ICE’s sensitive locations policy, and oppose any interpretation of law which would allow immigration raids in houses of worship and religious ceremonies.”