Judge blocks Trump immigration policy allowing arrests in churches for some religious groups

""It's a fear that people are experiencing across the country. People are not showing up, and the plaintiffs are suffering as a result.""

""The new DHS directive departs from the government's 30-year-old policy against staging immigration enforcement operations in 'protected areas,' or 'sensitive locations.'""

A federal judge ruled against the Trump administration's immigration enforcement policy that allowed agents to operate in houses of worship. This decision stems from a lawsuit by Quaker congregations, a Baptist network, and a Sikh temple, arguing that the policy infringes on their religious freedoms. Judge Theodore Chang's preliminary injunction protects these groups while they contest the directive, which contradicts a longstanding policy of keeping immigration operations out of sensitive locations. Immigrants' fear of attending services under the new rule poses significant harm to these religious communities.

Read at ABC7 Los Angeles