In Coalition for Spiritual and Public Leadership v. Noem, (ND IL, Feb. 12, 2026), an Illinois federal district court issued a preliminary injunction requiring federal immigration authorities to allow plaintiffs, Catholic clergy, access on Ash Wednesday (Feb. 18) to the ICE facility in Broadview, Illinois. The court agreed that denial of access likely substantially burdens plaintiffs' religious exercise in violation of the Religious Freedom Restoration Act. The court said in part:
Plaintiffs argue that prayer and ministry to the migrants and detainees at Broadview is an important religious practice. Defendants concede that “ministering to vulnerable Catholic immigrants is part of [plaintiffs’] religious exercise,” but argue that doing so at Broadview “is itself not essential to the practice.” RFRA requires a court to analyze if a government practice substantially burdens a person’s exercise of religion, not whether the religious practice burdened is “essential.”
The Hill reports on the decision.
