Faith-based groups challenge Trump orders in two court cases
Residents in support of continued refugee resettlement hold signs at a meeting in Bismarck, North Dakota, on December 9, 2019. (AP Photo/James MacPherson)
More than two dozen religious groups pushed back on President Donald Trump’s actions and executive orders, filing two lawsuits a day apart challenging the president’s attempt to effectively freeze the federal refugee resettlement program and defending a rule that prevents immigration law enforcement agencies from raiding houses of worship and other sensitive locations.
On Tuesday, 27 religious groups filed a lawsuit in US District Court in Washington arguing that Trump’s decision to rescind a 2011 government rule banning immigration raids in houses of worship, hospitals, and schools, violates the groups’ constitutional rights.
The plaintiffs include the Episcopal Church, Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.), the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church, the Union for Reform Judaism, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), the Unitarian Universalist Association, the Latino Christian National Network, and Mennonite Church USA.
