You may have heard in the news that Quakers have entered into a lawsuit challenging the rescission of a decades-old policy to not conduct immigration enforcement at  “sensitive locations,” which include schools, hospitals, houses of worship, and public religious ceremonies like weddings and funerals. 

On Saturday 1/27/25, Baltimore Yearly Meeting (of which Homewood Friends is a part) made the decision to be part of this lawsuit.  More information about this can be found in this Press Release from Democracy Forward, the national legal organization that is handling the case.

We will keep you posted as information about this lawsuit evolves. 

Friends Journal Coverage 1/27/25

BYM Special Announcement 1/28/25

Dear Friends –

Baltimore Yearly Meeting, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting, New England Yearly Meeting and two BYM monthly meetings- Adelphi and Richmond – filed a lawsuit yesterday against the Department of Homeland Security. The lawsuit challenges the Department’s rescission of a decades-old policy to not conduct immigration enforcement at  “sensitive locations,” which include schools, hospitals, houses of worship, and public religious ceremonies like weddings and funerals. The new policy allows government agents to conduct enforcement operations in those locations. As a result, people of various faiths will avoid going to their houses of worship for fear of government enforcement. This hurts immigrants who will stay home. And it hurts the houses of worship and the other members who lose the ability to worship with others, including a number of our monthly meetings with ties to immigrants of different kinds.

BYM’s decision to join the suit was approved by Interim Meeting on Jan. 25 after an urgent and unanimous recommendation by the Trustees. The sense of the meeting was clear and unified that we wanted to protect religious worship and do what we could to protect immigrants in our meetings and communities. We arrived at this unity, as did our Friends in PYM and NEYM, based on our deeply held Quaker convictions that go back centuries: our freedom to worship without government interference or weapons in our meeting houses, our belief that all those led by the Spirit to join us belong among us, and our traditions of welcome and hospitality. 

This lawsuit is about religious freedom broadly – not about providing sanctuary in meeting houses. However, we are aware Friends are interested in the issue of sanctuary, and BYM will provide resources in the Weekly Announcements as they become available.

How can your meeting help? We know there will be many questions – and loving hands ready to help. A Zoom meeting is in the works – stay tuned for more info. There may be opportunities for additional individual meetings to take action – but for now, we ask you to lift up this important witness and hold our immigrant Friends and neighbors in the Light. Thank you for your faithfulness and support – for our Yearly Meeting and Friends around the country – as we follow this urgent leading together.

Here’s a briefing with more information from Philadelphia Yearly Meeting.