Faith leaders sue, press for ICE detention access during Lent and Ramadan

Faith leaders from Catholic, Muslim, and Sikh communities are suing the federal government and pressing immigration authorities for greater access to detained migrants during the overlapping holy seasons of Lent and Ramadan. The number of people held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has grown to as many as 75,000 from about 40,000 since President Donald Trump began his second term, spread across more than 225 sites nationwide, according to the Associated Press. A federal judge’s order allowed clergy to hold an Ash Wednesday service at an Illinois facility, and a Muslim chaplain gained entry to a Texas detention center at the start of Ramadan — but clergy from multiple faiths say access remains inconsistent and, in some cases, has been entirely cut off.

Two active lawsuits claim the government violated religious freedom by barring clergy from facilities near Chicago and Minneapolis. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has separately urged Congress to mandate uniform access guidelines. The cases arise as detention capacity expands rapidly and as data from the Deportation Data Project shows the share of ICE arrestees with criminal histories has steadily fallen, despite the administration’s stated focus on dangerous individuals.

Faith leaders from Catholic, Muslim, and Sikh traditions are suing the federal government and pressing immigration authorities for greater access to detained migrants during Lent and Ramadan, as the number of people held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has grown to as many as 75,000 from about 40,000 since President Donald Trump began his second term, according to the Associated Press. The detainees are spread across more than 225 sites.

A federal judge ordered ICE to allow clergy to hold an Ash Wednesday service at a facility near Chicago. A Muslim chaplain gained entry to a Texas center at the start of Ramadan after months of negotiations. But clergy from multiple faiths said access remains inconsistent and has been entirely cut off in some locations.

Lawsuit wins Ash Wednesday entry in Illinois

Faith leaders were barred from the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois, beginning last fall — a change from a decade-long arrangement in which a nun and coalition member had conducted approved weekly prayers there, according to the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership, which filed suit.

After a judge ordered ICE to allow the visit, the Rev. David Inczauskis, a Jesuit priest and coalition member, said clergy celebrated an Ash Wednesday service with four migrants who had recently arrived at the facility.

“It’s an important victory,” Inczauskis said. “But also we recognize that it’s just one step along the way to migrant justice.”

Three federal agents asked to receive ashes alongside the migrants, he added. Faith leaders are “cautiously optimistic” they might arrange a regular schedule to visit, offer prayers, and bring items such as rosaries and Bibles, Inczauskis said.

Minneapolis clergy also sue

The Rev. Chris Collins, a Jesuit priest, was denied entry into a federal building in Minneapolis where large protests occurred during an immigration enforcement surge earlier this winter. Collins filed suit in February together with Minnesota branches of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the United Church of Christ after being “categorically denied” the opportunity to provide pastoral care, according to the complaint.

Muslim chaplain gains Texas access after months of negotiations

At the start of Ramadan, Muslim chaplain Nosayba Mahmoud was allowed to visit two women who had been held for many months at ICE’s Prairieland Detention Facility in Texas, near Dallas-Fort Worth, after months of negotiations with the agency. She brought dates to break the Ramadan fast and softcover Qurans.

“In systems that are made to break them, it is very important that they not only get that care, but they also get adequate care with someone that can help them make meaning of their situation by bringing God,” Mahmoud said.

Mahmoud said she hopes to provide prayer cloths during Ramadan but has not yet been permitted to do so.

Detention population and access requirements

The largest ICE detention site, Camp East Montana in El Paso, Texas, has housed an average of about 3,000 people per day. ICE facilities holding detainees for more than 72 hours are required to have a chaplain or “religious services coordinator” as well as dedicated spaces for services, ICE told the Associated Press. The agency said its policy requires advance notice and background checks for clergy and volunteers seeking to provide pastoral visits and religious services.

The Trump administration has repeatedly said its mass deportation efforts target immigrants who are a danger to society. Data from the Deportation Data Project shows the percentage of people arrested by ICE with criminal histories has steadily decreased, according to AP reporting.

It is not clear how the ouster of Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem, announced Thursday, will affect detention center operations, AP reported.

Bishops urge Congress to act

In a letter to Congress last week, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops urged “consistent access to religious and pastoral services for all immigration detainees” and called for “clear guidelines and uniform processes.” The bishops had expressed concern about the lack of pastoral care in a fall statement that Pope Leo XIV strongly backed.

For about 40 years, Archbishop Thomas Wenski of Miami has visited migrants at the Krome Detention Center on the edge of the Everglades, where a weekly Mass is held. He has also celebrated Mass at Alligator Alcatraz, a remote detention facility in Florida. At the largest El Paso facility, Bishop Mark Seitz said access for clergy is “very limited” due to what center management cites as a shortage of staff and space.

The Rev. Brian Nunes, auxiliary bishop of Los Angeles, recently celebrated Masses at large detention centers in Adelanto and California City, where detainees told him they struggle with separation from family and community.

Sikh volunteer: ‘I am the only one who knows they exist’

Sikh volunteer Simran Singh said he has visited Indian detainees at the Mesa Verde ICE facility in Bakersfield, California, for about a decade. He said he is often the only outside contact they have, delivering turbans that are taken upon detention and food from a local gurdwara — for some detainees, the only appropriate vegetarian food they have received while in custody.

“Most of their relatives are not in America … so I am the only one who knows they exist, that they’re more than just a number,” Singh said.

“That’s part of your identity. So not only are you stripped of your name, but you’re also stripped of who you are,” he said of the practice of taking turbans at intake.

Long-standing chaplaincy contracts and uneven access

The U.S. branch of Jesuit Refugee Service has held a contract with the Department of Homeland Security for about 15 years to provide in-house chaplains at about half a dozen detention centers, from near the Canadian border in New York to Guantanamo Bay, said Bridget Cusick, a spokesperson for the nonprofit.

Clergy and volunteers from multiple faiths said they plan to continue their ministry despite uneven access, describing it as essential to preserving detainees’ right to worship and affirming their dignity.