Recently, I wrote about what churches should do when protesters enter the sanctuary. But protest isn’t the only uninvited arrival pastors should be prepared for. Federal policy changes made last year mean that immigration and customs enforcement (ICE) officers can now legally enter churches, even during worship services.
Even if both possibilities are remote, pastors should think through questions like these: What authority do ICE officers have on church property? What are our legal rights? How do we balance submission to governing authorities with our mission to reach all people with the gospel?
This isn’t a topic where all evangelicals will come to the same conclusions. But just as wise churches have security plans for handling disruptions, wise churches should also think through how they’ll respond if enforcement activities ever come to their door.
Policy Landscape Has Changed
Scripture affirms that civil government has legitimate authority to enforce laws, including immigration laws (Rom. 13). Entering the country without authorization is a federal offense, and remaining after a visa expires or following improper entry constitutes unlawful presence.
Wise churches should think through how they’ll respond if enforcement activities ever come to their door.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Customs and Border Protection (CBP)—both part of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS)—handle enforcement of these laws.
Under the Obama and Biden administrations, the DHS operated under internal guidelines that discouraged enforcement actions at “sensitive locations” like churches, schools, and hospitals. The Obama administration reaffirmed a precedent in 2011 that was established by the Clinton administration. The Biden administration also updated it in 2021 with a “protected areas” memo. Under that policy, officers generally avoided enforcement near places of worship unless facing genuine emergencies—national security threats, imminent violence, hot pursuit of someone dangerous, or risk that critical evidence would be destroyed.
That policy ended on January 20, 2025. Acting DHS secretary Benjamine Huffman rescinded the protected areas guidelines, with the announcement going public the following day. Churches, schools, and hospitals no longer carry any special federal designation shielding them from immigration enforcement. Instead, officers now operate under general law, agency priorities, and their own discretion.
DHS communications have emphasized that officers may now conduct enforcement with “discretion along with a healthy dose of common sense” but without the categorical restrictions that previously applied. The change is framed as restoring operational flexibility while still expecting sound judgment from officers in the field.
What this means is that ICE is legally authorized to enter churches, even during times of worship. However, there have been no reported instances of enforcement occurring during services. In 2025, a federal judge refused to issue an injunction against the policy because the plaintiffs had not shown “a ‘credible threat’ of enforcement.” While the plaintiffs had pointed to isolated instances of any DHS activity near their facilities, such as in church parking lots, the judge noted that the DHS hadn’t directed its agents to target churches or to single them out.
What the Law Actually Requires
Even without special “protected” status, churches aren’t without legal protections. For DHS officers to conduct enforcement on private property—which includes any nongovernment space like a church—they generally must meet one of three conditions: consent from someone authorized to grant access, a judicial warrant signed by a judge or magistrate, or exigent circumstances like imminent danger or risk of evidence being destroyed.
Officers can enter genuinely public areas of your church—a lobby during service hours, a sanctuary open to visitors—without a warrant, just as any member of the public could walk in. But to access nonpublic spaces like offices, classrooms that aren’t open to everyone, residential areas, or restricted sections, they typically need either consent from an authorized person or a judicial warrant.
They also can’t enter such areas based on an ICE “administrative warrant” or removal order, since neither is the same as a judicial warrant. Administrative warrants are issued by the agency itself, not by a judge, and they don’t authorize entry into private areas of a church.
Our Theology Comes First
How we respond to immigration enforcement has to flow from Scripture rather than political instinct. We’re called to respect governing authorities and the laws they establish (Rom. 13:1–7), which means neither obstructing legitimate enforcement nor treating the state as our enemy. Law enforcement serves a genuine good in protecting communities, and that includes protecting our churches.
At the same time, the Great Commission sends us to all nations with the gospel—and increasingly, the nations have come to us. Many of our neighbors, and perhaps many in our pews, are immigrants. The church’s mission doesn’t change based on someone’s legal status.
Over the years, evangelicals have disagreed about what immigration policies the United States should adopt. But in recent weeks there has been more consensus that how we talk about these issues matters. Most evangelicals agree that our language should recognize the dignity of every person made in God’s image, including immigrants and those who hold different policy views.
How Law Enforcement Should Treat All People
Just as the people in a nation are obligated to respect governing authorities, those authorities are obligated to respect the people. Law enforcement officers are called to protect and serve all people in their jurisdiction. This includes everyone present in the community, regardless of a person’s citizenship status. This flows directly from both the biblical teaching that all humans bear God’s image and possess inherent dignity (Gen. 1:27) and legal precedent in the United States.
Romans 13 describes civil authorities as “God’s [servants],” meant to promote good and restrain evil. That role requires treating all people with basic respect and fairness. Officers who demean, threaten, or mistreat someone based on his or her perceived immigration status aren’t fulfilling the biblical purpose of government; they’re abusing the authority entrusted to them.
Our language should recognize the dignity of every person made in God’s image, including immigrants and those who hold different policy views.
U.S. law is also clear that constitutional protections apply to all persons, not only citizens. Because law enforcement officers are agents of the state, their duties are constrained by those protections whenever they exercise government power. The Constitution repeatedly uses the term “persons,” not “citizens.” This isn’t accidental.
For example, the Fourteenth Amendment states, “Nor shall any State deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws” (emphasis added).
We should expect law enforcement to conduct themselves professionally, to use only necessary force, to respect constitutional protections that apply to all persons (not just citizens), and to avoid targeting people based on ethnicity or national origin. The Fourth Amendment’s protections against unreasonable searches and seizures apply to everyone on U.S. soil. Due-process rights belong to all persons, not just citizens. The Supreme Court ruled in Plyler v. Doe (1982) that undocumented immigrants are still “persons” under the Fourteenth Amendment.
Federal civil rights law (42 U.S.C. § 1983) also allows lawsuits against law enforcement officers who violate constitutional rights. It applies when officers, acting under color of law, deprive “any citizen of the United States or other person within the jurisdiction thereof” of constitutional rights. Courts have repeatedly held that noncitizens may bring claims for police misconduct under this statute for such actions as excessive force, unlawful detention, discriminatory enforcement, or denial of due process.
This should be the standard we all support. When enforcement is carried out with dignity and professionalism, it reflects the proper function of government. When it’s carried out with cruelty or prejudice, it dishonors the badge, the American people, and the God who established governing authorities for human flourishing. Christians can support lawful enforcement while insisting it be conducted justly.
If your church witnesses enforcement conducted improperly—officers acting abusively, ignoring legal requirements, or treating people inhumanely—you have both the right and the responsibility to document what you observe and report it through appropriate channels.
Practical Steps for Your Church
For the past hundred years, almost all evangelicals have supported protecting churches from government interference in matters of faith while still operating within civil law. This means, in part, that church leaders aren’t state agents, and pastors have no obligation to serve as immigration enforcement officers.
Many congregations want to fulfill their primary calling—gospel ministry—without interference. This includes reaching whomever the Lord brings into their community, whether through ESL classes, refugee support, or outreach to immigrant neighborhoods. Some churches are composed largely or entirely of immigrants who came to faith through the congregation’s ministry. Churches shouldn’t be required to check someone’s immigration status before we share the gospel or serve our neighbors.
As you develop your church’s approach, consider several principles:
Develop a plan that reflects your congregation’s convictions. Every church needs to think through its specific context prayerfully. While churches aren’t legal sanctuaries that can shield people from law enforcement, they’re sacred spaces that warrant thoughtful pastoral consideration. Think through how you’ll address those who attend your church and have entered or are living in our country and what this requires of you.
Put practical systems in place. Identify legal counsel or a trusted legal-aid ministry you can call. Designate a small group of leaders authorized to interact with law enforcement and to grant or deny consent for entering nonpublic areas. Train front-desk staff, ushers, and volunteers on what to do if ICE officers arrive, such as how to ask respectfully for identification and warrants, and how to direct officers to the designated point person. Clarify which areas of your building are public versus private.
Know what not to do. Don’t position your church as a legal “sanctuary” that claims to be beyond government authority. Doing so creates legal problems and could undermine ministry effectiveness. Don’t obstruct enforcement through physical interference, destroying evidence, or knowingly harboring people in ways that break the law. Scripture’s call to respect governing authorities applies here, and such actions could rightfully expose leaders and the church to serious consequences.
Keep Perspective
These tensions between civil obligations and sacred mission aren’t new. Churches have had to navigate similar challenges throughout history. In every era, we must determine how best we can ensure everyone can hear the gospel without unnecessary government intrusion, while respecting the legitimate role of law enforcement in maintaining an ordered society.
Churches have had to navigate similar challenges throughout history.
Our citizenship is ultimately in heaven, and that eternal perspective should shape how we view even temporal questions such as immigration enforcement. It also helps to keep our priorities straight and our focus on advancing God’s kingdom, reaching all people with the good news, and honoring the dignity of everyone made in God’s image.
Within that framework, we can engage civil authorities in ways that honor both God and government, fulfilling our ministry while operating as faithful citizens.
