{"id":300,"date":"2026-04-01T23:35:35","date_gmt":"2026-04-02T04:35:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/faithfulwitness.local\/resources\/faqs-on-religious-liberty-immigration\/"},"modified":"2026-04-02T23:50:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T04:50:18","slug":"faqs-on-religious-liberty-immigration","status":"publish","type":"fw_resource","link":"https:\/\/faithfulwitness.us\/ht\/resources\/faqs-on-religious-liberty-immigration\/","title":{"rendered":"FAQs on Religious Liberty & Immigration"},"content":{"rendered":"

About This Resource<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Religious liberty is one of America’s foundational legal values \u2014 and it has direct relevance to how churches respond to immigration enforcement. The Law, Rights, & Religion Project, based at Columbia Law School, brings legal expertise to bear on the specific questions faith communities are asking: How does religious liberty protect us? What can we do that is legally defensible? What are our limits?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This FAQ is written by legal experts and is intended for a non-lawyer audience. It is current as of its publication date and reflects the most authoritative available interpretation of relevant law. As the legal landscape continues to shift, churches should also consult current legal counsel.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What is the Religious Freedom Restoration Act?<\/summary>

The Religious Freedom Restoration Act (RFRA) is a federal law passed by Congress and signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993. Intended to provide broad protections for religious practice, the law bars the federal government from placing substantial burdens on religious exercise unless doing so is necessary to advance a very important government interest. Put another way, RFRA provides an expansive right to religious exemptions from federal laws and policies that hinder religious exercise. Since its passage, RFRA has been used to gain religious exemptions from a range of federal laws and policies, from the ban on ayahuasca to the contraceptive mandate of the Affordable Care Act.<\/p><\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n

Who is protected by RFRA?<\/summary>

RFRA applies to any person or organization in the U.S. whose religious activities are substantially burdened by an act of the federal government. RFRA protections are not limited to houses of worship or religious leaders. The Supreme Court ruled in Burwell v. Hobby Lobby that even some for-profit companies are covered by RFRA. Non-citizens, including undocumented people, are protected by RFRA. However, some lower courts have ruled that RFRA does not apply to noncitizens outside the U.S., including those being held at military prisons outside the U.S.<\/p><\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n

What is the RFRA test?<\/summary>

RFRA is a two-part test. Different parties are responsible for proving each part of the test to the courts. Step 1: First, a claimant seeking a religious exemption must show that the federal government is placing a substantial burden on their sincere religious exercise.<\/p>

  • A person’s religious exercise may be burdened by government actions that require her to do something her religious beliefs prohibit, prohibit her from doing something her religious beliefs require, or substantially pressure her to modify her religious beliefs or practices.<\/li>
  • A religious act or belief need not be obligatory to be eligible for protection as a religious practice. Nor must one’s religious belief or practice be rooted in formal religious doctrine; unorthodox beliefs and activities are entitled to protection. Step 2: If the claimant prevails at Step 1, then they are entitled to a religious exemption unless the government can prove the burden is necessary to advance a compelling government interest.<\/li>
  • The government must show it has a compelling interest in enforcing the law or policy on the person requesting an exception. A “broadly formulated” interest\u2014such as enforcing immigration law in general\u2014should not be sufficient.<\/li>
  • A person seeking an exemption may suggest to the court how the government might advance its interests in ways that would be “less restrictive” on their religious exercise.<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n
    Does RFRA protect people from enforcement of immigration laws?<\/summary>

    The Supreme Court has not yet heard a case requesting a RFRA exemption from an immigration law. Any litigation in this area is untested and therefore poses risks. That said, it is possible that RFRA could be interpreted to protect individuals or congregations from the enforcement of some immigration laws. For example, lower courts have interpreted RFRA to:<\/p>

    • Protect the right of people of faith to leave food and water in the desert for migrants. In this case, volunteers had been charged with entering federal land without a permit and abandoning property, both misdemeanors. The judge held that prosecuting the volunteers would violate RFRA.<\/li>
    • Protect the right of pastors to minister to migrants at the border. In this case, the Department of Homeland Security sent an email to the Mexican government requesting that the pastor be denied entry to Mexico. The court found this violated RFRA and the Free Exercise Clause.<\/li>
    • Other immigration-related RFRA cases, including a Seventh-day Adventist family that argued that the deportation of their father and husband violated their RFRA rights and a case brought by undocumented women living in sanctuary congregations, settled favorably without a court opinion.<\/li>
    • As of September 2025, there are four ongoing lawsuits filed by religious organizations challenging the withdrawal of the sensitive locations policy as a violation of RFRA, among other arguments.<\/li>
    • While not directly related to immigration, many cases have found that RFRA protects the right of faith-based nonprofits to engage in acts of service, including providing food and housing\u2014notwithstanding legal barriers to these activities, such as zoning laws or public health regulations.<\/li><\/ul><\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n
      Do you have to wait to be prosecuted to bring suit under RFRA?<\/summary>

      No; RFRA can be used as a legal claim or a legal defense. For example, if the federal government passes a law that would require you to violate your religious beliefs, you can challenge the law under RFRA. Alternatively, if the federal government charges you with a crime, you can defend yourself by arguing that the activities for which you are being prosecuted are religious exercise protected by RFRA.<\/p><\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n

      What are state RFRAs?<\/summary>

      RFRA only offers religious exemptions from federal laws and policies. However, 28 states have passed statutes analogous to the federal RFRA that offer exemptions from state laws and policies. Most of these “mini-RFRAs” have been interpreted to include the same protection as the federal RFRA. In one ongoing case, a Catholic-affiliated nonprofit that offers housing to immigrants is arguing that the Texas RFRA protects them from closure by the Texas Attorney General.<\/p><\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n

      What other religious liberty protections exist?<\/summary>

      People of faith and houses of worship also have the right to Free Exercise, Free Speech, and Freedom of Association under the First Amendment as well as state constitutional protections for religious liberty. Narrower protections, such as clergy-penitent privilege, may also apply in certain circumstances.<\/p><\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n

      How can I learn more?<\/summary>

      For additional information and questions, contact the Law, Rights, and Religion Project at team@lawrightsreligion.org.<\/p><\/div><\/details>\n\n\n\n

      \n\n\n\n

      Published by The Law, Rights, & Religion Project<\/strong> at Columbia Law School.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      A legal FAQ addressing the urgent intersection of religious liberty and immigration enforcement \u2014 what faith communities can legally do to protect their immigrant members.<\/p>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_kad_post_transparent":"","_kad_post_title":"","_kad_post_layout":"","_kad_post_sidebar_id":"","_kad_post_content_style":"","_kad_post_vertical_padding":"","_kad_post_feature":"","_kad_post_feature_position":"","_kad_post_header":false,"_kad_post_footer":false,"_kad_post_classname":"","footnotes":""},"fw_initiative_tag":[],"class_list":["post-300","fw_resource","type-fw_resource","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithfulwitness.us\/ht\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fw_resource\/300","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithfulwitness.us\/ht\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fw_resource"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithfulwitness.us\/ht\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/fw_resource"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/faithfulwitness.us\/ht\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fw_resource\/300\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/faithfulwitness.us\/ht\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=300"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"fw_initiative_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/faithfulwitness.us\/ht\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/fw_initiative_tag?post=300"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}