Judge Florence Pan, a Biden appointee, wrote the opinion. Judge Robert Wilkins, an Obama appointee, joined her. Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee, dissented. She wrote that the groups had not clearly shown standing, in particular that a court order restoring the earlier limits would actually change how agents operate.
The suit challenges the Department of Homeland Security's January 2025 decision to rescind earlier guidance that restricted immigration arrests at "sensitive locations," churches among them. The groups argue the change chills worship and burdens their religious exercise. They bring claims under the First Amendment, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, and the Administrative Procedure Act.
The ruling is narrow. The panel decided only that the groups may be heard. It said nothing about whether the claims will succeed. The case now goes back to U.S. District Judge Dabney Friedrich, a Trump appointee, who must take up again the request for a preliminary injunction. The administration can still contest the claims on their merits, and it may seek further review of this decision.
Two truths the church has to hold together
Most Americans will read this as a fight over politics. I want to look at what the Bible says to the church while the lawyers do their work.
First, the government is not the enemy. The apostle Paul wrote to believers living under Rome, a far harder master than any American administration. He did not tell them to despise the magistrate.
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For there is no power but of God: the powers that be are ordained of God." (Romans 13:1)
A nation has the right to decide who crosses its borders and under what law. President Trump was elected to enforce those laws, and enforcing them is not a sin. Officers who carry out lawful orders deserve our respect for the office they hold. A church that cheers lawbreaking, or tells its people to hide from every officer, has stopped preaching Romans 13.
Second, the church is still the church. The sanctuary is not a government office or a political rally. It is where a sinner walks in on a Sunday morning with nothing to offer but his need. The doors of a house of God have always been open to the weary and the hunted, and a congregation ought to be free to gather and pray without wondering who is watching the parking lot.
The Lord said plainly how His people are to treat the foreigner among them: "But the stranger that dwelleth with you shall be unto you as one born among you, and thou shalt love him as thyself; for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the LORD your God." (Leviticus 19:34). That command was given to a nation with borders, courts, and laws of its own. God asked them to be both a people of law and a people of mercy, and He never made those two things enemies.
What the pew can do
Whatever Judge Friedrich decides, you do not have to wait on a courtroom to act like a Christian. Obey the laws of the land. Pray for the president, for the judges, and for the officers who work these hard assignments, because the Word of God tells us to. Feed the hungry who knock at your church door, and tell them the truth about Jesus Christ, who died for sinners of every tongue and nation.
Governments rise and fall. Court rulings are overturned and policies are rewritten with each new administration. The gospel does not change with any of it. Christ is still the only way to the Father. The church that keeps its doors open, its Bible open, and its conscience clear will outlast every argument now being made in Washington.