{"id":8418,"date":"2026-10-06T12:16:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-06T18:16:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/"},"modified":"2026-10-06T12:16:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-06T18:16:09","slug":"archdiocese-sues-over-clergy-access-to-ice-detainees-the-rights-you-keep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/camposlawfirm.com\/es\/archdiocese-sues-over-clergy-access-to-ice-detainees-the-rights-you-keep\/","title":{"rendered":"La archidi\u00f3cesis presenta una demanda por el acceso del clero a los detenidos por el ICE: \u00abLos derechos que te corresponden\u00bb"},"content":{"rendered":"

En el bufete de abogados Campos, seguimos de cerca la evoluci\u00f3n de la pol\u00edtica de inmigraci\u00f3n de EE. UU. para proteger los derechos y el futuro de nuestros clientes. El lunes, 5 de octubre de 2026<\/strong>, el Archdiocese of St. Louis<\/strong> filed a federal lawsuit because immigration detainees at the Ste. Genevieve County jail in Missouri cannot go to confession, receive Communion, or take part in other sacraments in private.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The case reaches beyond one jail: it is a reminder that being in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody does not mean losing all your rights. Below, we explain what we know and what you can do.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Is the Archdiocese Challenging?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against top Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials and the local sheriff. According to Reuters, priests may visit detainees only during a four-hour window on Mondays<\/strong> and only by telephone through a glass partition. That leaves no privacy for confession, and Church law does not allow confession by electronic means.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When priests asked to give Communion, the jail proposed that a guard pass the consecrated hosts to detainees in a container, a proposal Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski<\/strong> called “sacrilegious.” “They cannot hear confessions, they cannot celebrate Mass, they cannot give the anointing of the sick to any of the detainees,” he told Reuters. According to the archdiocese, most of the roughly 150 detainees are Hispanic Catholics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Does the Lawsuit Ask For, and What Do Officials Say?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The archdiocese wants priests to receive the same access as attorneys and consular officials<\/strong>, who already get exceptions to the no-contact visiting rule, according to St. Louis Public Radio. The suit invokes the Free Exercise Clause of the First Amendment, the federal Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), and Missouri’s Religious Freedom Restoration Act.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to Reuters, ICE’s website says clergy may visit detainees at any time as long as they notify the sheriff’s office; the lawsuit alleges ICE is not enforcing its own policy. The sheriff’s office previously said it avoids direct contact to keep contraband out and said it had not yet received the lawsuit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Rights Do You Keep in Immigration Detention?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Immigration detention is civil, not criminal. It limits your freedom, but not all of your rights. In general terms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n