Status as of October 20, 2026. A federal appeals court revived a challenge to the Trump administration's policy allowing immigration enforcement at or near houses of worship. The court found that religious organizations likely have standing to seek an injunction, but it did not order ICE to stop making arrests at churches, synagogues or other worship sites.
Churches and synagogues fighting immigration arrests at places of worship won another opportunity to challenge federal policy on Tuesday, October 20. A divided U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit reversed a lower court's refusal to consider temporary protection for a coalition of 27 religious organizations and sent the case back for further proceedings.
The ruling in Mennonite Church USA v. Department of Homeland Security is a procedural victory for the religious groups, not a new nationwide restriction on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The district court must still decide whether the groups qualify for a preliminary injunction against the government's enforcement policy.
What did the appeals court decide?
The organizations had asked a federal judge to restore the former restrictions on immigration operations at sensitive locations and to prohibit enforcement at their worship sites without a judicial warrant or an emergency. The district court denied their request because it concluded they were unlikely to prove standing—the legal right to bring the claims in court.
The appeals court disagreed. In a majority opinion written by Judge Florence Pan, the court concluded that the groups' member congregations faced a sufficiently credible threat of increased enforcement to pursue their claims. The judges considered allegations of operations at or near religious facilities, surveillance, and the effect of enforcement fears on congregations. They found that restoring the previous safeguards or granting other requested relief could alleviate at least some of the asserted harm.
The decision does not determine whether DHS violated the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act or federal administrative law. Judge Neomi Rao dissented, arguing that reinstating the former guidance would not necessarily change officers' enforcement authority or practices.
Why are churches challenging ICE policy?
For decades, federal immigration agencies generally sought to avoid enforcement actions at sensitive sites, including houses of worship. The 2021 DHS guidelines instructed officers to refrain from operations in or near protected areas to the fullest extent possible, subject to exceptions.
On January 20, 2025, DHS withdrew those restrictions. Subsequent ICE guidance gave field supervisors discretion to authorize enforcement at or near protected places on a case-by-case basis rather than under a rule generally discouraging such operations.
Religious organizations say that change discourages immigrants from attending worship, receiving food assistance and participating in other congregational activities. The government has maintained that immigration officers retain enforcement discretion and are not directed to target worship sites.
Are ICE arrests at churches now prohibited?
No new prohibition resulted from the October 20 ruling. The D.C. Circuit decided that the organizations can pursue their request for protection; it did not grant that request. Whether the district court issues an injunction, and what places or parties any injunction covers, remains unresolved in this case.
A separate lawsuit reached a different procedural stage in August: the Fourth Circuit upheld an injunction protecting certain religious plaintiffs against the administration's worship-site enforcement policy. That earlier decision covered a different case and different religious organizations; it should not be confused with Tuesday's D.C. Circuit ruling.
What happens next?
The case returns to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia for consideration of the religious groups' preliminary-injunction request. Until a court grants additional relief, this decision alone does not restore the old DHS policy or require agents nationwide to obtain a judicial warrant before every immigration arrest at a place of worship.