By Brendan Pierson
(Reuters) – A federal judge on Friday refused to limit the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement activities in places of worship, ruling against a group of 27 religious organizations that had sued the administration over its decision to drop a previous policy against enforcement in sensitive locations.
U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich in Washington, who was appointed by President Donald Trump during his first term in office, found that the organizations likely did not have standing to bring the case because their claims that they faced harm were speculative.
Lawyers for the plaintiffs, which include the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church USA, Central Conference of American Rabbis and Convención Bautista Hispana de Texas, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The White House and Department of Homeland Security also did not respond to requests for comment.
The groups sued the Department of Homeland Security and other immigration enforcement agencies in February, arguing that the administration’s policy change violated their right to religious freedom under federal law and the U.S. Constitution’s First Amendment.
Trump, a Republican, has pledged to deport millions of people who are in the United States illegally, and DHS said the policy change would mean that people would no longer be able to stay in churches to avoid arrest.
(Reporting By Brendan Pierson in New York; Editing by Mark Porter)
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