Catholic priests and nuns are suing the Trump Administration after they were denied entry at the Broadview ICE facility.
The late Sisters Pat Murphy and JoAnn Persch prayed with detainees and gave them Communion inside the facility every Friday from 2010 to 2020, the lawsuit says.
They switched to Zoom during the pandemic and resumed praying on the stairs outside in 2022 but that ended in September with Operation Midway Blitz.
Now the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership accuses the US Department of Homeland Security of violating the clergy and detainees’ constitutionally-protected right to free exercise of religion.
In a 27-page lawsuit filed on Wednesday, the group says ICE agents barred them from visiting over generic safety and security concerns on October 11 & November 1.
WBBM has reached out to Homeland Security for a response.