The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has authorized immigration agents to enter the homes of certain noncitizens and make arrests without the kind of warrant mandated by the Fourth Amendment. A secret Immigration and Customs Enforcement memo authorized agents “to…
Groups sue to block Trump from rewriting history at national parks
A coalition of conservation, history and scientific organizations is suing the Trump administration to stop its ongoing efforts to censor displays and monuments in the federal park system. The National Parks Conservation Association and Union of Concerned Scientists were among…
Trump has lost 4,421 cases about ICE tactics but keeps on going
More than 400 federal judges since October have issued at least 4,421 rulings that Immigration and Customs Enforcement is holding immigrants illegally, according to a new analysis by Reuters. “The decisions amount to a sweeping legal rebuke of Trump’s immigration…
New study proves immigrants help US economy and are not a drain
Immigrants are essential to the U.S. economy because they pay more in taxes than they use in benefits, according to a new study by the Cato Institute. The report undermined President Donald Trump’s claim that the “average illegal alien costs…
4 churches find creative ways to reimagine their properties
Churches are finding new ways to live into historic callings through innovative facilities projects they hope will sustain their ministries and congregations into the future. Second Baptist Church in Memphis, Tenn., recently celebrated the opening of a 7,777-square-foot hospitality center…
Detained immigrants must have access to attorneys, court rules
Immigration and Customs Enforcement must grant attorneys access to detainees held in a Minnesota detention facility, a federal court ruled Feb. 12. The ruling responded to a class-action lawsuit filed against the Department of Homeland Security and ICE. The action…
Second court rules sensitive locations out of bounds for raids
A federal court in Massachusetts has blocked a Trump administration policy that allowed immigration enforcement raids in sensitive locations such as churches, schools and hospitals. The ruling came Feb. 13 in New England Synod, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, et…
Jewish mass protest condemns U.S. government brutality
More than 100 rabbis and cantors led a mass protest outside the Washington, D.C., headquarters of Immigration and Customs Enforcement Feb. 11 to demand the humane treatment of immigrants and to call for respect for human rights and dignity. The…
Pastor asks attorney general to apply zero-tolerance protest policy evenly
A megachurch pastor said he wants U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi to apply her zero-tolerance stand against church protesters to situations when protesters disrupt Black churches. Jamal Bryant, senior pastor of New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Stonecrest, Ga., said…
Trump administration will block Green Card holders from SBA loans
The Trump administration is widening its actions against immigrants by disqualifying all non-U.S. citizens and nationals, including Green Card holders, from borrowing from a key Small Business Administration loan program. Beginning March 1, eligibility for 7(a) loans will be limited…
In Oklahoma and Tennessee, religious charter schools face barriers
A bid to launch Ben Gamla Jewish Charter School as a taxpayer-funded religious charter school in Oklahoma was rejected by the state Feb. 9. In turning down the application, some members of the Oklahoma Statewide Charter School Board said they…
Lawsuit claims SBC and others could have stopped Arkansas abuse
Southern Baptist leaders and organizations should have known former youth minister Keenan Hord posed a danger to minors at First Baptist Church in Bentonville, Ark., according to a lawsuit filed by the parent of a sexual abuse victim. The action…