Minnesota churches roiled by legal battle over ICE surveillance and right to protest

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) — Court cases involving Twin Cities churches and immigration enforcement highlight how the acrimonious debate continues to roil faith communities more than six months since the federal surge turned Minnesota into a symbol of defiance of the Trump administration’s policies.

In one case, a Minneapolis Baptist church — alongside congregations nationwide — asked for the government to be reprimanded after spying on protest-related activity on its property. In another, more than three dozen protesters have asked for their charges to be dismissed after they disrupted a worship service in a St. Paul church where one of the pastors was also a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement official.

Even congregations uninvolved in the court cases say they’re still feeling the repercussions of the weekslong surge in immigration operations last winter. Protesters confronted federal law enforcement daily, and the killing of two protesters sparked global outcry.

Immigration agents are no longer visibly active on the same residential block as Holy Trinity Lutheran Church in Minneapolis. But its pastor says the signs that went up in January stating “Everyone is welcome here!…