Federal judge orders DHS to set up clergy access to detainees at Whipple Building

A federal judge in St. Paul on Friday directed the Department of Homeland Security to create a plan that lets clergy visit immigration detainees held at the Whipple Federal Building. Judge Jerry Blackwell issued the order in a lawsuit brought in February by a group of Minnesota religious leaders.

The plaintiffs are the United Church of Christ Minnesota Conference, the Minneapolis Area Synod of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and the Rev. Christopher Collins, a pastor at St. Peter Claver Roman Catholic Church in St. Paul. They contend that DHS is infringing their First Amendment right to practice their religion by preventing them from ministering to detainees in person.

Blackwell granted the plaintiffs' request for a preliminary injunction. He told DHS to lift any blanket ban on clergy visits at Whipple and to put in place a "workable process for allowing access" that still accounts for the government's reasonable interest in keeping the building secure.

During the hearing, the judge criticized the way access is currently handled. "There's a concern that the clergy access is ad hoc, that it's arbitrary," Blackwell said, comparing the experience to the Wizard of Oz opening "a little window" to decide who gets in. He said the standards being applied are unknown and depend on "the subjective determinations of whoever," and asked how that could be the best the government can do.

Assistant U.S. Attorney David Fuller argued that the dispute is moot because Operation Metro Surge has ended and DHS no longer holds large numbers of detainees at Whipple. He also said the clergy had not demonstrated concrete, individualized harm, noting that no clergy members had visited in recent weeks and that one who went on March 6 was not turned away.

Erin Westbrook, an attorney for the plaintiffs, responded that the lawsuit aims to secure a clear policy, which she said the government has not provided.

After the hearing, ELCA Bishop Jen Nagel said she tried to visit detainees on Ash Wednesday, at the start of Lent, but guards at Whipple turned her away. She said that although DHS is admitting clergy at the moment, she worries the agency could reverse course without notice.

"We know that for years and years, most likely the Whipple Building will continue to be used as a federal detention center," Nagel said. She said she wants a dependable system so that detainees can receive the spiritual support clergy can offer, rather than something done "willy-nilly."

Irina Vaynerman, an attorney with the nonprofit Groundwork Legal who represents the plaintiffs, called for "a uniform, reasoned, and thoughtful approach that recognizes the humanity of everybody and their undeniable constitutional rights."

Blackwell gave lawyers for the clergy and for the government one week to submit a written plan ensuring that clergy can visit people detained at the Whipple Building.