The press release had asserted that “criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” contradicting DHS’ reassurances and reinforcing fears within immigrant communities.
Legal Battle Over Government Overreach
Chuang further found that DHS had failed to demonstrate a compelling state interest justifying the rollback of protections for religious spaces. The Biden administration’s revised guidelines—which stressed that such enforcement actions should be rare, justified, and require high-level approval—were deemed a less restrictive alternative that the prior administration had ignored.
For over three decades, U.S. immigration policy had restricted enforcement actions in sensitive locations, including churches. The judge noted that DHS “offered no argument” supporting the necessity of reversing this longstanding policy, concluding that the agency failed to justify the shift.
Scope of Injunction: What’s Next?
While the religious organizations had sought a nationwide injunction, Judge Chuang limited the ruling to the specific plaintiffs involved in the case, stating that broader restrictions were unnecessary at this stage. For now, ICE is prohibited from conducting immigration raids at or near only the plaintiffs’ places of worship.
