Trump's immigration policy under fire from faith communities
A lawsuit against Trump's immigration policy, which increases the latitude for arrests in places of worship, was filed on Tuesday in court by religious groups representing millions of Canadians and Americans. Thus, members of Christian and Jewish communities expressed their dissatisfaction.
Several religious groups in the USA, gathering millions of believers, initiated legal action against Donald Trump's administration. According to the Associated Press, the decision to expand the freedom of immigration agents to make arrests in places of worship sparked the opposition.
Among the plaintiffs are the Episcopal Church, Union for Reform Judaism, Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, along with Mennonites and Presbyterians. The lawsuit emphasized that the new policy leads to a decrease in attendance at worship services, violating religious freedom. "We have immigrants, refugees, people who are documented and undocumented," said Sean Rowe from the Episcopal Church.
Faithful fear raids in places of worship
The lawsuit is against the Department of Homeland Security and its agencies. "The massive scale of the suit will be hard for them to ignore," said Kelsi Corkran, an attorney from the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy at the Law Center at Georgetown University, who is the lead counsel for the plaintiffs. She explained that before Donald Trump's presidency, agents required special authorization to operate in places of worship.
Now, they can act everywhere, which raises concerns. "People fear going to the store, they are avoiding going to church," said Pastor Carlos Malave from the Latino Christian National Network.
Pastor Malave emphasized the deeply rooted fear and mistrust towards the government. Churches are increasingly offering online services to protect the faithful. "People fear for the well-being of their families," he added.
The lawsuit is a response to incidents such as the arrest of a man from Honduras outside a church in Atlanta. These events show how the new regulations affect the lives of religious communities in the USA and Canada.
