News from the Episcopal Church
Judge denies faith groups’ request for injunction against Trump administration over ICE actions
By ENS Staff
Posted Apr 14, 2025
[Episcopal News Service] A federal judge has refused to grant a preliminary injunction against the Trump administration that was requested by The Episcopal Church and a coalition of interfaith plaintiffs in their lawsuit seeking to block immigration enforcement actions at houses of worship.
Judge Dabney Friedrich of the U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., issued her decision April 11, a week after hearing arguments by attorneys for the religious groups and the Trump administration. The Episcopal Church was joined by 26 other plaintiffs in the lawsuit, including Protestant and Jewish groups, in warning that changes in immigration policy were sowing fear in the communities they serve.
The nonpartisan Georgetown University Law Center, in arguing the case on behalf of the religious groups, specifically objected to policy changes under President Donald Trump that ended past protections against immigration enforcement actions at houses of worship and other “sensitive locations,” such as schools and hospitals.
The hearing in The Episcopal Church’s lawsuit was held at the U.S. District Court in Washington D.C., as seen in this file photo from 2023. Photo: Associated Press
Friedrich concluded that the plaintiffs had not demonstrated that the new administration was actively targeting immigrants for detention and possible deportation at houses of worship. She also expressed skepticism that any decreased participation in worship services or ministries was related directly to the end of U.S. Immigration and Customers Enforcement’s “sensitive locations” protections.
“Evidence suggests that congregants are staying home to avoid encountering ICE in their own neighborhoods, not because churches or synagogues are locations of elevated risk,” she wrote in her decision.
The plaintiffs now are considering their next steps in the case.
“We are currently reviewing the decision and are assessing our options,” Kelsi Corkran, the plaintiffs’ lead attorney, said in a written statement. “We remain gravely concerned about the impacts of this policy and are committed to protecting foundational rights enshrined in the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.”
During his campaign, Trump had vowed to oversee mass deportations of millions of people living in the United States without permanent legal residency status. He began pursuing policies to follow through on that promise in the hours after his Jan. 20 inauguration to a second term, with a series of executive orders related to immigration. The next day, Homeland Security ended Biden administration policies that had identified certain sensitive areas as protected from immigration enforcement actions.
The Episcopal Church is one of 12 denominations that have signed onto the lawsuit, which also includes the Disciples of Christ, Mennonite, Methodist, Presbyterian and AME Zion churches. Other plaintiffs include regional denominational bodies and other religious associations.
The plaintiffs’ 80-page complaint, filed Feb. 11, includes short summaries of ways they say the government’s policies have burdened the faith organizations’ practice of their religions.
Participants in the pilgrimage by members of the Episcopal Church in Alabama stand in front of the museum honoring the Scottsboro Boys, nine African American teenagers falsely accused of raping two women on a train. Photo: Episcopal Church in Alabama
[Episcopal Church in Alabama] The Episcopal Church in Alabama, in partnership with The Scottsboro Boys Museum, held an inaugural racial healing pilgrimage April 5 in Scottsboro, Alabama, to honor and remember the infamous Scottsboro Boys trial.
Observed just one day shy of the 94th anniversary of the April 6, 1931, trial, the pilgrimage honored the nine African American teenagers known as the Scottsboro Boys, who were falsely accused of raping two white women aboard a train. Over 55 Episcopalians from across the state gathered at Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church in Scottsboro, where the Rev. Polly H. Robb – the rector and visionary behind this inaugural pilgrimage – led participants through a full itinerary.
The day began with Morning Prayer, followed by a procession to three historically significant sites, each tied to the Scottsboro Boys case. At each stop, pilgrims engaged in scripture readings – including selections from the Psalms – and offered prayers and collects from the Book of Common Prayer, creating a sacred rhythm of reflection, healing, and remembrance.
The pilgrimage’s first stop was the old jail’s original site, where the boys spent the night of March 25, 1931. “This ground has a sacred connection to the story. Although these African Americans spent only a night on March 25, 1931, they are forever known as the Scottsboro Boys,” said Tom Reidy, executive director of the Scottsboro Boys Museum. He added, “This is a site of an incident that I think we need to keep talking about. This is because if we forget our past, if we forget about these difficult times, we forget our heroes.”
Addressing pilgrims at the Scottsboro Boys Memorial Mural, artist Don Howard, who the Scottsboro City Council commissioned for the mural, offered his reflections. “I thought that there was something peculiar, because it galvanized the community of Black people when it happened and the world as the biggest story [on racial injustice] at that time,” Howard said. “For a city to embrace the past so they can look forward to the future – especially for a relatively small town in the state of Alabama – I felt it was tremendous, and for them to actively seek out an artist who was a person of color was even a bigger thing.”
The third stop of the pilgrimage was the Jackson County Courthouse, where Presiding Circuit Judge John H. Graham shared a message of hope and accountability. “I don’t have much philosophy to share with you or any cure to the problems of the world we face and seem to have always faced other, than to say those of us in the court system, I fully believe, try every day to do better than we did yesterday, to do better tomorrow than we did today – to obey, to follow, to observe the rule of law, and the belief and decree that we have as [U.S.] Americans that we will pursue life, liberty, and happiness,” he said.
Reflecting on those who intervened to prevent the boys’ lynching, he said, “I think there is a lesson to be learned, and I’ll just tell you for myself – I don’t speak on behalf of anyone – I speak for myself: It’s not going to happen again on my watch if I can possibly stop it.”
The day concluded with a brief homily at the Scottsboro Boys Museum, housed in the historic Joyce Chapel, from Alabama Bishop Assisting Brian Prior. Drawing a powerful theological connection, Prior paralleled the day’s journey with the Good Friday pilgrimage many Episcopalians observe during Holy Week.
“One of the pilgrimages I look forward to is Good Friday – it is a sacred time where people walk the walk of Jesus,” he said. “This suggests to you a walk like the one we just had, a walk that made it clear about the injustices that happened to Jesus. The walk that we just experienced makes it clear the injustice that happened to the Scottsboro Boys.”
He encouraged pilgrims to continue sharing the story. “The injustice at the time of Jesus that we only know about because there are those – and ancestors and a great cloud of witnesses – who had told the story over and over again, who would not let the story go away. Friends, your witness today continues to do that for the Scottsboro Boys. I am grateful for those who share this day, grateful for those who have told the stories so we can continue to live in that place and those stories will not go away, and the stories will continue to grow.”
Prior also called the group to remember that pilgrimage is not an end but a beginning. “Even if you walk alone,” he said, “no pilgrimage is ever truly solitary. We do this work in the community. We do it to respect the dignity of every human being. We do it to move closer to where God is calling us – to a world where love, grace, and justice are not aspirations, but reality.”
Many participants expressed excitement about how moving and educational the experience had been. For Kana Goldsmith, executive director of Sawyerville – a ministry deeply rooted in racial reconciliation – the day held personal significance.
“My work at Sawyerville deals with working with children in the same age group as the Scottsboro Boys, and that makes this very emotional for me,” she said. “Today’s learnings drive me even more to ensure that everyone who comes through Sawyerville knows their rights as U.S. citizens and has the opportunity to succeed. I also believe it’s right for white Southerners to uplift and strengthen every Black man and woman in their community.”
This pilgrimage forms part of the Diocese of Alabama’s growing commitment to racial healing and pilgrimage ministry, led by Breanna Carter. It joins a constellation of sacred spaces across the state that hold a deep connection to the Civil Rights movement. Chief among them is the annual Jonathan Daniels and the Martyrs of Alabama Pilgrimage that honors Episcopal seminarian Jonathan Daniels and the 14 other martyrs recognized by the diocese.
Reflecting on the day’s events, Robb – who was inspired by Alabama Bishop Glenda Curry’s vision for racial healing – expressed excitement about the strong turnout for this inaugural pilgrimage and emphasized the importance of continuing to tell the story of the Scottsboro Boys, which helped shape the beginning of the Civil Rights movement.
Reidy, the museum’s director, also expressed gratitude for the diocese’s partnership. “The museum is always looking for opportunities for collaboration, and the Rev. Robb, who has served on our board for three years, suggested this idea, and it exceeded my expectations,” he said.
“I loved that we had the images of the nine defendants, the young African American teenagers, and they were carried throughout the city of Scottsboro. The last time those faces had been together, marching through Scottsboro, they were being marched from a cell to a courtroom. To have those same images in the museum, standing in line—it was amazing. We were fortunate to have this collaboration and will continue to build on it.”