Democrats in Congress and several advocacy groups are backing a bill to prevent immigration enforcement measures in houses of worship and schools.
Rep. Jesús García of Illinois, Rep. Adriano Espaillat of New York and Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut have re-introduced the Protecting Sensitive Locations Act.
Previously introduced in 2023, the proposed legislation bars immigration enforcement within 1,000 feet of a “sensitive location” save for “exigent circumstances,” such as “the targeted arrest of a terrorist suspect, an individual who poses a clear threat to national security, or an individual who poses an extraordinary danger to public safety.”
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Entities labeled a “sensitive location” include healthcare facilities, private and public school campuses, school bus stops and “[c]hurches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship, such as buildings rented for the purpose of religious services.”
García believes the act is “a crucial step in ensuring that immigrant families can access essential services without the threat of ICE enforcement looming over them.”
“No one should live in fear of being detained while taking their child to school, seeking medical care, or practicing their faith,” he said in a statement. “Trump’s decision to allow immigration enforcement in sensitive locations has further increased levels of fear and intimidation within my district and across the country.”
The legislation is co-sponsored by nearly two dozen Democrats in the Senate but no Republicans, meaning it could face an uphill battle as both chambers of Congress are controlled by the GOP.
The bill has the reported endorsement of several hundred religious and secular advocacy groups representing different denominations, special interests and religions.
Christian groups listed among the approximately 580 endorsers included the United Methodist Church, American Friends Service Committee, Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, Franciscan Action Network, Korean American Sanctuary Church Network, United Church of Christ and the Alliance of Baptists.
Last month, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security announced the rescinding of a policy initially enacted in 2011 during the Obama administration that prohibited agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection from conducting law enforcement operations in “sensitive” areas, including churches and schools.
“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” stated DHS. “The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
“The Biden-Harris Administration abused the humanitarian parole program to indiscriminately allow 1.5 million migrants to enter our country. This was all stopped on day one of the Trump Administration. This action will return the humanitarian parole program to its original purpose of looking at migrants on a case-by-case basis.”
Last week, around two dozen religious groups and denominations filed a complaint against DHS, CBP and ICE, claiming that the rescinding of the policy violated religious freedom.
“An immigration enforcement action during worship services, ministry work, or other congregational activities would be devastating to their religious practice,” argues the lawsuit.
“It would shatter the consecrated space of sanctuary, thwart communal worship, and undermine the social service outreach that is central to religious expression and spiritual practice for Plaintiffs’ congregations and members.”
Supporters of the policy’s rescinding, among them Liberty Counsel Chairman Matt Staver, have argued that these places should not be a sanctuary for criminals. In an earlier interview with The Christian Post, the Christian lawyer stated that he believes there is “no constitutional right” for churches to be “sanctuaries for criminal activity” and have “complicity in breaking the law.”
Staver contrasted the situation of churches sheltering undocumented immigrant criminals with the work his organization did during the COVID-19 pandemic when many churches sued over lockdown measures.
“During COVID, churches defied the laws that banned worship. These bans went to the core of worship and those who defied the laws risked being arrested,” said Staver. “We represented those churches because banning worship is fundamentally different than harboring a fugitive inside a building.”
The Rev. Samuel Rodriguez, president of the National Hispanic Christian Leadership Conference, told CP earlier this month that he doesn’t believe the new policy will harm immigrants who entered the country legally or churches.
“I do not foresee any circumstance where [Immigrations and Customs Enforcement] agents in cooperation with other law enforcement agencies go guns a-blazing on a Sunday morning service,” said Rodriguez.
“They’re not going to come into churches, but they might be outside the parking lot area. Not in the parking lot, but outside in the premises, outside the church property, looking for that criminal element to maybe come out of a church service — that gang banger or that person who has a record. That’s a possibility.”
