The Cooperative Baptist Fellowship has joined a coalition of Quakers as a plaintiff in the lawsuit filed last week demanding the Trump administration not allow ICE agents to conduct raids in houses of worship.
The new policy of the Trump administration reversed previous federal policy that marked houses of worship and schools as off-limits for immigration raids and arrests. The actions are part of the new administration’s swift actions to create mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
While cheered by the MAGA faithful, the policy allowing raids in churches has been roundly criticized by religious leaders, including some evangelicals who are Trump’s political base.
CBF, founded in 1991 in a schism with the Southern Baptist Convention, is one of the smallest denominational bodies in the United States. Until now, the group has not been politically active on the national stage.
Paul Baxley
“The recent revocation of the sensitive location status is already harming the ministries of many of our congregations, the work of our field personnel and the life of our Fellowship,” said CBF Executive Coordinator Paul Baxley. “As Baptists, despite our many differences on theology and political preference, we have stood steadfast for centuries in the belief that local congregations should be free to carry out their mission as guided by the Holy Spirit.
“As a Fellowship, we have experienced a clear and unmistakable calling to be a community that is more racially, ethnically, generationally and geographically diverse as we believe this reflects the mission of God and the character of Jesus. The revocation of sensitive location status for houses of worship has also harmed our capacity to live into that divine calling.
“We believe the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act grant clear legal warrant for our action.”
“Because the sensitive location policy was abruptly reversed by the Department of Homeland Security and because there is urgency in seeking relief and restoration to what previously existed, legal intervention is our best path,” he continued. “A primary reason for our joining this legal action is a hope that DHS’s abrupt policy reversal will be blocked and our partner congregations will experience relief needed to freely associate and worship. We also believe the First Amendment of the United States Constitution and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act grant clear legal warrant for our action.”
CBF and the Sikh Temple of Sacramento joined as plaintiffs in a case originally brought by Philadelphia Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, New England Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, Baltimore Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, New York Yearly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, Adelphi Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, and Richmond Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends — all Quaker groups.
The lawsuit was filed and now amended in U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland.
Lead attorney for the plaintiffs is Alethea Anne Swift, who serves as senior counsel with Democracy Forward in Washington, D.C.
Kristi Noem
Kristi Noem, in her official capacity as secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, is named as defendant in the case. The court has given her and DHS a standard 60 days to respond to the legal complaint.
Baxley said CBF’s involvement in the case is a matter of moral and religious conviction, not a partisan statement.
“In joining this effort, we do not represent that Cooperative Baptists share the same political views or affiliate with a particular political party,” he said. “Our Fellowship is unique because we are politically, theologically, racially, ethnically and generationally diverse. We are bound together by a strong commitment to the lordship of Jesus and the time-tested experience that the boldest faith, whether in the lives of individuals or congregations, must rise from freedom and not coercion.”
CBF’s Governing Board voted unanimously to authorize joining the lawsuit.
Related articles:
Quakers file suit to stop ICE raids at churches like what happened Sunday
‘My church may not be entered by federal agents, but it is not only my church that concerns me’ | Opinion by Rory Naeve
ICE raids in churches violate conservative principles | Opinion by David Bumgardner
SBC pastor opposes ICE raids in churches and gets labeled ‘woke’ by far right
Churches educating congregants on how to respond if ICE shows up