RICHMOND, Va — In a victory for religious liberty, a federal appeals court has upheld restrictions on ICE raids at certain houses of worship, recognizing that the threat of immigration enforcement can itself burden religious exercise by driving worshippers away and forcing faith communities to alter their religious practices.
The unanimous ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit in Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends v. DHS affirmed a preliminary injunction requiring the Department of Homeland Security to abide by its previous safeguards when conducting immigration enforcement actions at or near the plaintiffs’ houses of worship. The Fourth Circuit found that the faith communities are likely to succeed on their claim under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA). The Rutherford Institute, in conjunction with Harvard Law School’s Religious Freedom Clinic, argued that allowing ICE and Border Patrol agents unilateral discretion to conduct raids inside houses of worship threatens First Amendment protections and violates RFRA by chilling the free exercise of religion.
“Churches, synagogues, temples and mosques should be places where individuals can gather to worship without having to fear the menace of the police state,” said constitutional attorney John W. Whitehead, president of The Rutherford Institute and author of Battlefield America: The War on the American People. “The government does not have to outlaw a religion or padlock the church doors to undermine religious freedom. Sometimes all it takes is making people afraid to walk through them. When the threat of armed government agents causes people to stay home, churches to lock their doors, and faith communities to change how they worship, the chilling effect is real. This ruling recognizes that religious liberty cannot flourish under a cloud of government intimidation.”
For decades, federal immigration agencies limited enforcement actions at or near houses of worship. That changed during President Trump’s second term when, in January 2025, DHS rescinded those protections and replaced them with a policy largely allowing immigration officers to rely on their discretion in deciding whether to conduct enforcement operations at sensitive locations. In affirming the injunction, the Fourth Circuit pointed to DHS’s own announcement that “[c]riminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest,” concluding that DHS “has made clear that it intends to target houses of worship in future immigration enforcement actions.” The court further found that the 2025 policy “implicates direct, coercive interactions between government agents and churchgoers.”
The challenge was brought by Quaker, Cooperative Baptist, and Sikh faith communities whose religious practices emphasize communal worship and welcoming others, including immigrants. Evidence showed that the threat of ICE enforcement contributed to declining attendance, fear among worshippers, and changes in religious practice. One Baptist congregation reported a 66 percent drop in attendance at its English-as-a-Second-Language classes, while other congregations reported locking their doors or becoming reluctant to invite immigrants to worship. The district court issued a preliminary injunction requiring DHS to adhere to its prior safeguards at or near the plaintiffs’ houses of worship, which the Fourth Circuit has now affirmed.
The Fourth Circuit rejected the government’s argument that these harms were too speculative, finding declining attendance to be a “predictable effect” of DHS’s policy and concluding that the resulting disruption of communal worship was sufficient to establish a likely substantial burden under RFRA. The injunction applies only to the plaintiffs’ houses of worship and requires DHS to abide by its previous safeguards, including generally obtaining prior agency approval for enforcement actions unless exigent circumstances exist.
Joshua C. McDaniel, Parker W. Knight III, Kathryn F. Mahoney, and Steven W. Burnett with Harvard Law School’s Religious Freedom Clinic advanced the arguments in the amicus brief.
Case History
February 27, 2026 • ICE Raids in Churches Pose Significant Threat to First Amendment & Religious Liberty
Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends v. DHS
U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit
District Court
Article posted with permission from John Whitehead
