Fourth Circuit grills DOJ on bid to relax ICE’s ‘sensitive locations’ restrictions

A federal appeals court grilled the Department of Justice on Wednesday over the Trump administration’s bid to allow immigration officers to enter places of worship in certain circumstances, expressing concern over the effects on religious liberty that the policy may have.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit grilled DOJ lawyer Michael Talent over the administration’s bid to reverse a lower court’s ruling barring the implementation of a policy giving immigration officials more freedom to conduct operations in “sensitive locations,” such as churches and other places of worship.

The coalition of religious groups suing the administration claims the policy violates the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which bars the government from substantially burdening a person’s right to exercise religion, pointing to drops in attendance at religious services after the new policy was announced.

Several judges questioned Talent about the drop in attendance, which the group cited as