RNS tracked the religious lawsuits against Trump’s immigration policies. Here’s what we found.

(RNS) — In February, Paula White-Cain, an evangelical Christian pastor who oversees the White House Faith Office, stood before the crowd gathered at the National Prayer Breakfast and declared that her boss, President Donald Trump, is a champion of religious freedom.

“No president in modern history, or perhaps all of history, has done more structurally, substantially and sincerely to elevate and protect religious liberty,” she said, sparking a round of applause.

But just 24 hours later, lawyers representing Trump’s administration were defending themselves from the latest filing in a lawsuit brought by a group of Catholic organizations and leaders, including Sister JoAnn Persch, a Catholic nun. In the 18-page legal filing, lawyers for the group accused the federal government of banning religious expression by preventing faith leaders from ministering to immigrants detained in a Department of Homeland Security facility.

“The denial of access did more than simply inhibit their conduct; it destroyed their ministry — their religious expression — which entailed pastoral care face-to-face with detainees, as Sr. JoAnn had done for years,” the filing read.

It’s a dynamic that has…