Minnesota churches roiled by legal battle over ICE surveillance and right to protest

The AP reports that tensions over immigration enforcement are continuing to divide faith communities in Minnesota months after a major federal enforcement surge. Churches have become central to two legal battles: one involving government surveillance of protest-related activity at a Minneapolis church, and another involving protesters who disrupted worship at a St. Paul church whose pastor also worked as an ICE official.

The broader conflict centers on whether houses of worship should receive special protection from immigration enforcement. The Trump administration expanded agents’ ability to make arrests at churches and other religious sites, prompting numerous religious organizations to sue. Faith leaders argue that churches traditionally provide sanctuary, assistance and advocacy for immigrants and refugees, while federal officials maintain they must be able to enforce the law.

One controversy involves University Baptist Church in Minneapolis, where Homeland Security agents conducted surveillance during meetings involving immigration protesters. Religious groups that previously won an injunction limiting immigration enforcement at their churches argue the surveillance violated that order. The government counters that the operation was a criminal investigation into alleged efforts to train people to interfere violently with federal officers, rather than an immigration-enforcement action. A federal ruling is pending.

A separate case involves more than three dozen people, including former CNN journalist Don Lemon, who face federal civil-rights charges after protesters entered Cities Church during Sunday worship, chanting against ICE and interrupting the service. Defense attorneys argue the prosecutions are selective and inconsistent with the government’s own intrusion into churches, while attorneys for the congregation maintain that protesters had no right to invade a worship service. Motions to dismiss are expected to be heard in late October.

The disputes have left many Twin Cities congregations exhausted and anxious. Churches supporting immigrants have increased security, migrants remain fearful, and some religious leaders say questions about government surveillance continue to hang over their communities. Despite the strain, many churches say they intend to continue providing sanctuary and advocating for vulnerable immigrants.

Author: Giovanna Dell’Orto, Associated Press