Quaker groups from New England and mid-Atlantic states filed a lawsuit on January 27 against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security for violating the First Amendment, among other major legal issues. The lawsuit claims that allowing armed government agents in or near the Quaker meeting houses is “disruptive” to their ability to freely worship, and the change in policy was made “arbitrarily and capriciously” in violation of the Administrative Procedures Act (APA).

Democracy Forward, a national legal organization that advances democracy and social progress through litigation, policy and public education, and regulatory engagement, filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, asking U.S. District Judge Theodore Chuang to “declare the policy unconstitutional and prevent agents from carrying out enforcement actions at places of worship.”

The complaint followed the Trump administration’s rescission of existing protections for places of worship, schools and other spaces in regard to limiting the ability of U.S. immigration agents such as Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to enter their places of worship and make arrests.

President Donald Trump ordered his then-acting Homeland Security Director to rescind a 30-plus-year-old policy that limited immigration enforcement agents’ access to “protected areas.” This action means that armed ICE agents could search houses of worship, schools, hospitals, playgrounds, and other places in their quest to locate illegal immigrants or their children with the purpose of arresting and deporting them.

The lawsuit was brought by a coalition of four regional communities of Quaker meetings, called “yearly meetings.” One of them, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, includes Quaker congregations located in Pennsylvania (where the largest Quaker meeting house in the U.S. is located in Philadelphia), Delaware, South Jersey and the Eastern shore of Maryland.

In Court documents, the suit says that the new Trump policy violates the Quakers' rights under the First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution and also violates both administrative law and a law that protects religious freedom in the U.S.

In a release, Democracy Forward states that the suit seeks to “block the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) from its abrupt shift in policy that enables federal immigration enforcement officials to enter houses of worship for their immigration enforcement actions.” Democracy Forward explains that the policy “is already sowing fear within migrant friendly congregations and has led to cancellations in worship services out of fear,” as alleged in the complaint. The suit further alleges that “the Trump policy violates the First Amendment and other protections.”

Protecting places of worship is not a new legal safeguard in America.

The U.S. has historically offered protections to places of worship and other sensitive locations, including the Quakers, for decades.

The legacy of Quakers in America dates back to the mid-1600s when they were persecuted in England for their faith. William Penn, a Quaker and founder of Pennsylvania, arrived in America in 1682. The governing document he created for the colony of Pennsylvania, the Charter of Privileges, granted religious freedom for all and was a precursor to the US Constitution’s First Amendment.

In an interview with Christie Duncan-Tessmer, the General Secretary of Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM), she said that their faith welcomes everyone and deeply values equality, peace, and non-violence. The new Trump provision to allow armed ICE members to enter their space was unacceptable, according to Duncan-Tessmer. “Anyone is welcome to worship with Friends,” she explained.

Democracy Forward agrees. In a public statement, President and CEO of Democracy Forward Skye Perryman said the new order clearly violates the constitution.

“A week ago today, President Trump swore an oath to defend the constitution and yet today religious institutions that have existed since the 1600s in our country are having to go to court to challenge what is a violation of every individual’s constitutional right to worship and associate freely,” said Perryman.

Democracy Forward, in legal documents, says that there is a historic precedence in the U.S. to protect sensitive locations such as houses of worship.

“For decades, the United States has protected sensitive locations, including houses of worship, from immigration enforcement activities, out of a concern that such activities restrain people from receiving essential services and engaging in essential activities, such as worship,” the document states.

The suit alleges that the presence of armed government agents at or near meeting houses is disruptive to the plaintiffs’ ability to freely associate and worship. The suit also alleges that the abrupt shift in policy violates the process for policymaking required by the Administrative Procedures Act (APA). Under the APA, according to the lawsuit, agency action is “arbitrary and capricious if it departs from agency precedent without explanation.”

Plaintiffs, represented in the legal challenge by Democracy Forward, include 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, Adelphi Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, and Richmond Friends Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends.