Judge Blocks Trump Admin From Making Immigration Arrests in Some Churches

A federal judge on Monday issued an order blocking the Trump administration from conducting immigration raids at certain places of worship and churches.

U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang ruled in favor of several groups who filed a lawsuit in a Maryland federal court challenging President Donald Trump’s decision to drop a memo released under the Biden administration that blocked immigration arrests at houses of worship and other locations.

The preliminary injunction from the Maryland-based judge only applies to the plaintiffs, which includes a group of Quakers as well as a Georgia-based network of Baptist churches and a Sikh temple in California.

“A return to the status quo is therefore warranted until the exact contours of what is necessary to avoid unlawful infringement on religious exercise are determined later in this case,” Chuang added.

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“Where plaintiffs’ communal religious exercise will be significantly and adversely affected by reductions in attendance resulting from immigration enforcement actions pursuant to the 2025 policy, armed law enforcement officers operating in or at places of worship pursuant to the 2025 policy will adversely affect the ability of Quakers and Sikhs to follow their religious beliefs or worship freely,” Chuang wrote in his 59-page opinion.

“This action empowers the brave men and women in CBP (Customs and Border Protection) and ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) to enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens—including murders and rapists—who have illegally come into our country,“ then-acting DHS Secretary Benjamine Huffman said in the statement. ”Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”

Vitello most recently was the assistant director for firearms and tactical programs before being tapped as the acting director. DHS has not named a replacement for Vitello.

Weeks ago, Tom Homan, the White House border czar tasked with carrying out Trump’s immigration agenda across the federal government, said arrests inside the United States are about three times higher than they were this time last year, under President Joe Biden. But he said it still wasn’t enough.

“I’m not satisfied,” Homan told CNN earlier this month. “We got to get more.”

From Jan. 23 to Jan. 31, officials shared data on X daily but then stopped publishing information. The agency’s data dashboard has more information, but those quarterly figures are only current as of September 2024.

The administration has repeatedly said its first priority is to deport illegal immigrants who have committed crimes in the United States or pose a threat to public safety.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.