(RNS) — As a rabbi and an Episcopal bishop, we share the ancient belief that every person is made in the image of God. Yet our ability to practice this fundamental tenet of our faiths is now being threatened by the U.S. government’s recent rescission of guidelines that limited immigration enforcement in protected areas such as houses of worship.
Allowing the government to violate our sacred spaces and our congregations with immigration raids both shocks our consciences and infringes on our freedom of religion — a freedom enshrined in the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
Earlier this week, we joined a multifaith coalition of dozens of plaintiffs representing millions of Americans in a lawsuit filed against the Department of Homeland Security by Georgetown Law School’s Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection. We are suing the government because subjecting places of worship to Immigration and Customs Enforcement actions without a judicial warrant presents an intolerable burden on the free exercise of religion in violation of the First Amendment and the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. These enforcement actions constitute a direct attack on our ability to fulfill the religious mandate to welcome and serve immigrants.
For decades, certain locations have been deemed off-limits to immigration raids, most notably hospitals, schools and places of worship. These places share a common bond: They sustain the human body, the human mind and the human spirit. They serve people, not according to nationality or ethnicity, but as human beings whose needs, hopes and beliefs transcend borders and backgrounds. Our synagogues and churches are sacred spaces, consecrated by our faiths and established under our fundamental tenets to welcome in all who enter. Conducting warrantless raids in these spaces shatters their sanctity and tramples on our freedom to practice our faiths.
Freedom of religion has shaped this country from its inception. It has served as a beacon that brought many of our ancestors to these shores. Today, that same light guides immigrants to our houses of worship in search of refuge and a place to worship freely, without fear of persecution. We are compelled by our faith to open the doors of our synagogues and churches to them, regardless of their background, nation of origin or immigration status.
Caring for the stranger is a religious obligation for Jews. For most of Jewish history, Jews have moved from one land to another due to exile, persecution or the hope of a better future for the next generation. Jews came to the United States as immigrants and have supported and welcomed immigrants ever since. Jews have always heeded the commandment repeated 36 times in the Torah: an exhortation to care for the stranger because Jews were strangers in the land of Egypt.
In this way, Jewish Scripture and history compel the Jewish community to work with and help immigrants and refugees. Today, Jewish congregations are spiritual homes and places of sanctuary for new immigrants and refugees seeking safety and a better future.
Christian tradition is also shaped by the biblical commandment to welcome the stranger, and Jesus proclaims a kingdom in which the persecuted are at the very heart of God. The apostle Paul writes that Christians’ true citizenship is in God’s kingdom and that Christians are called to transcend the earthly distinctions made by the leaders of this world. Christians also understand themselves to be members of the body of Christ in which each believer plays a part, and this fundamental tenet means that Christian congregations cannot worship freely if some among them are absent because they live in fear.
This fear is not theoretical. Already, raids have been conducted across the country. Our congregations and the millions of people represented by our lawsuit are already seeing declines in worship attendance due to fear of ICE action.
Near Atlanta at the end of January, an asylum seeker who had emigrated with his family from Honduras in 2022 left church because his ankle monitor, put on him when he crossed the border, went off as he and his family listened to their pastor’s sermon. Outside, he was arrested by ICE agents.
By subjecting our congregations to such threats, our government is demanding that Jews and Christians around the country turn our backs on our core religious beliefs. Our Scripture, teaching and traditions are clear: We are called to care for those who have fled persecution, escaped violence or who simply seek a better life in a safer land. In response to this sacred call, we have committed ourselves to this fight to protect our congregants, uphold our faith and serve our God.
(The Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe is presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. Rabbi Hara Person is chief executive of the Central Conference of American Rabbis, a Reform leadership organization. The views expressed in this commentary do not necessarily reflect those of Religion News Service.)