Appeals Court Keeps Immigration Agents Out of Quaker, Sikh and Baptist Houses of Worship

A unanimous three-judge panel of the Fourth Circuit on Aug. 18, 2026 left in place a preliminary injunction barring the Department of Homeland Security from applying its 2025 enforcement-location policy to the plaintiffs: the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship, which serves about 750,000 Baptists, the Gurdwara Sahib West Sacramento, serving 30,000 Sikhs, and six Quaker Meetings. Writing for the panel, Judge Barbara Milano Keenan found the policy 'substantially burdens the free exercise of their religion' and is 'having a chilling effect on their congregations.' She was joined by Judges G. Steven Agee and Pamela Harris.

In its first days the second Trump administration rescinded the Biden-era rule keeping immigration enforcement away from protected areas such as places of worship, schools and hospitals, telling officers to use discretion and 'a healthy dose of common sense.' The congregations sued under the Religious Freedom Restoration Act and the First Amendment.

Keenan cited a January 2025 DHS statement that 'criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest,' writing that it showed the threat to these congregations was 'real and substantial.' The injunction stands while the case continues.