San Diego parish joins lawsuit to block immigration enforcement in 'sensitive locations'

SAN DIEGO — A more than century-old San Diego Jesuit parish has joined other churches and a farmworker organization across the country in a federal lawsuit challenging the Trump administration’s willingness to bring its immigration crackdown into so-called “sensitive locations.”

“I feel like the only effective tool with this administration is lawsuits,” said the Rev. Scott Santarosa from Our Lady of Guadalupe, the Logan Heights parish. “That doesn’t tend to be the church’s first method of defense, but I think with this administration, that’s what we have to do.”

The legal action, filed in Oregon federal court, comes after the Trump administration in January rescinded a yearslong policy that limited immigration arrests in places previously considered off-limits, such as schools, hospitals and churches, with certain exceptions.

Founded in 1917, Our Lady of Guadalupe, which hangs a banner outside with the message “We Belong,” describes itself as an immigrant parish. Santarosa said many of its members are either undocumented or have a relative or friend who is.

“We made a commitment to do everything we can, at every level, to try to protect our parishioners,” he said.

Plaintiffs include the Oregon-based community organization Pineros y Campesinos Unidos del Noroeste; the Augustana Lutheran Church, also from Oregon; the San Francisco Interfaith Council in California; and the Westminster Presbyterian Church in Florida.

The complaint says that the government’s actions violate the First Amendment as well as the Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

“As a result of the administration’s new policy, sacred spaces have become sources of extreme anxiety rather than places of healing, expression, reflection, celebration, and refuge,” the complaint reads.

“Community members are deprived of social services and places where they gather to celebrate, educate, and advocate; parishioners are afraid to attend religious ceremonies; and essential services to the most vulnerable — from health care to education to disaster relief — have been disrupted.”

The suit names the heads of the Department of Homeland Security, Customs and Border Protection, and Immigration and Customs Enforcement as defendants.

When the policy rescission was announced just after President Donald Trump took office, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security said the action would allow immigration officials to “enforce our immigration laws and catch criminal aliens.”

“Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America’s schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense,” a spokesperson said in a Jan. 21 statement.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection, which operates under DHS, did not respond to a request for comment on the lawsuit.

Santarosa said that whether the new policy is enforced or not, “people are stressed.”

“If entering into this lawsuit with the other plaintiffs can help us gain that, at least on Sundays when they come to Mass, (people) are protected. That would be a significant step,” he said.

The parish has previously held know-your-rights sessions with the immigrant community, as well as organized processions in solidarity with immigrants.

The complaint says that the U.S. government has followed certain guidelines for operating in sensitive locations for decades.

Under the Biden administration, former DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas issued a policy that immigration enforcement actions “should not be taken in or near a location that would restrain people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities.”

Protected areas included places of worship, schools, health care facilities and social services establishments.

“Our goal is to secure nationwide relief for all types of sensitive locations,” said Hilary Li, counsel for the Justice Action Center, which filed the lawsuit with Innovation Law Lab on behalf of the group.

“We want our case to be a victory for places that include community-based organizations, places of worship, but also schools and health care facilities,” she said.

The lawsuit joins other legal efforts nationwide in response to the administration’s actions at sensitive locations. A group of Quaker congregations filed a lawsuit earlier this year, prompting a federal judge to issue a preliminary injunction blocking immigration enforcement actions but limited to places of worship operated by the plaintiffs.