February 11, 2025: The Central Conference of American Rabbis and Union for Reform Judaism have proudly joined more than a dozen national faith denominations as plaintiffs in a major federal lawsuit defending religious freedom. The suit challenges rescission of a longstanding “sensitive locations” policy that strictly limited ICE from immigration enforcement actions in houses of worship.
The lawsuit is rooted in our commitment to defending our right and ability to fulfill without government interference the holy and prophetic tenets of our faith, including worship, community building, education, programming, and more. We welcome people into our buildings without regard to their status in this country. The sensitive locations policy ensures that all these things happen freely and without the intrusion of U.S Immigration and Law Enforcement (ICE). This lawsuit will ensure our ability to choose to continue that holy work, free from government interference. For us, this is a matter of principle. The United States’ dedication to religious freedom, established in the First Amendment to the Constitution, is a unique and central blessing of our democracy. It has allowed Jewish life—and all religious life—to flourish in this country over the centuries. Without these protections in place, Americans of all faiths will be at risk.
The lawsuit is led by a team from the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection (ICAP), a non-profit, public interest litigation firm housed at Georgetown University Law Center. The suit is premised on protections established by the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA), which affirmed that any action taken by the government that imposes on religious freedom must do so through the least restrictive means. In this case, we have joined with a host of national faith denominations who share our belief that the Department of Homeland Security’s lifting of the sensitive locations policy fails to meet RFRA’s standards and will have significant and harmful impacts on our religious freedom.
The lawsuit imposes no obligations on any individual Reform congregation, clergy, or congregant. As always, every synagogue, rabbi, and congregant is free to decide their own policies and practices, as well as make their own determination on the services they provide or do not provide.
Given the increase in ICE activity, we suggest that every congregation engage in thoughtful, advance planning in consultation with their congregation’s legal advisors and local immigration law experts who can best guide them on their circumstances and local/state laws when it comes to immigration issues that may impact the synagogue’s members, program participants, and overall activities.
For more information about the CCAR and URJ’s commitment to immigration justice, rooted in the biblical directive to welcome the stranger, or immigrant, mentioned thirty-six times in the Torah, visit the RAC website.
Read more about this lawsuit and read the frequently asked questions.
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The Central Conference of American Rabbis (CCAR) is the Reform Rabbinic leadership organization. The CCAR strengthens the Jewish community by providing religious, spiritual, ethical and intellectual leadership and wisdom. CCAR and its members lead the Reform Movement on important spiritual, social, cultural and human rights issues, as it has done since 1889. CCAR also is the center for lifelong rabbinic learning, professional development, and resources for the more than 2,100 rabbis who serve more than 2 million Reform Jews throughout North America, Israel and the world. Since its founding, the CCAR has also served as the primary publisher of the Reform Movement through CCAR Press and its imprint Reform Judaism Publishing.
Contact: Tamar Anitai, CCAR Director of Strategic Communications, tanitai@ccarnet.org