“A week ago today, President Trump swore an oath to defend the Constitution and yet today religious institutions that have existed since the 1600s in our country are having to go to court to challenge what is a violation of every individual’s constitutional right to worship and associate freely,” said Skye Perryman, president and CEO of Democracy Forward, which is representing the Quaker groups in court. “The troubling nature of the policy goes beyond just houses of worship with sanctuary programs—it is that ICE could enter religious and sacred spaces whenever it wants.”
Trump rescinded the “sensitive locations” restriction on Immigration and Customs Enforcement arrests last week, allowing federal agents to conduct raids in places that were deemed off limits in previous years, like schools, hospitals, and places of worship. The policy goes back to the 1990s, and was maintained even in Trump’s first term.
“Quaker meetings for worship seek to be a sanctuary and a refuge for all, and this new and invasive practice tangibly erodes that possibility by creating unnecessary anxiety, confusion, and chilling of our members’ and neighbors’ willingness to share with us in the worship which sustains our lives,” said Noah Merrill, secretary of the Quaker group the New England Yearly Meeting of Friends. “This undermines our communities and, we believe, violates our religious freedom.”
