A federal judge indicated on Monday that he will decide whether to hold the Department of Homeland Security in contempt for allegedly violating a court order that barred immigration agents from entering places of worship. U.S. District Judge F. Dennis Saylor IV scheduled a hearing for next month to determine if the administration violated a preliminary injunction issued earlier this year. The government has until August 28 to file a formal response.
The legal dispute follows the revelation of "Operation Puppet Master," a surveillance campaign launched by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on January 28. The operation was established following the fatal shootings of Renee Good and Alex Pretti by federal agents in Minneapolis and focused on an organized network suspected of rioting and assaulting federal officers. Court filings recently revealed that undercover Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents conducted surveillance at University Baptist Church in Minneapolis as part of this campaign.
According to court documents, an undercover agent entered the church's gymnasium on May 28 to monitor a martial arts group described by the government as left-wing. The agent reportedly used a concealed audio recorder to document the meeting and sparred with attendees. Additional filings show that agents spent several hours on two Sundays in April photographing people and checking license plate numbers of cars parked at the church and a neighboring library.
Attorneys representing faith groups argued these actions constitute "egregious violations" of a February injunction that blocked a policy allowing agents to make arrests inside places of worship. Former church president Jean E. Lubke stated in a sworn statement that the infiltration was a "complete violation" of the church's sacred space. The Department of Justice has argued the surveillance was tied to a National Security Presidential Memorandum on domestic terrorism and did not constitute "immigration enforcement" prohibited by the court order.
The scale of the reported surveillance included monitoring two full Sundays in April and an undercover infiltration of a gymnasium class in May. While the specific number of individuals recorded or whose license plates were run was not detailed in total, the activity involved at least 15 Minneapolis activists currently facing prosecution. Worshippers at this specific Minneapolis location and potentially others nationwide would notice a concrete change in their day-to-day experience depending on whether the court affirms the church as a "sacred space" protected from all federal surveillance or accepts the government’s distinction between immigration enforcement and national security operations.
The knock-on effects could influence future policy regarding "sensitive locations," which previously included schools and hospitals in addition to churches. A contempt finding would likely complicate the Department of Justice's use of National Security Presidential Memorandum-7, which the government cited as the authority for these actions. What happens next is a court deadline for the government to respond by August 28, followed by a contempt hearing scheduled for September. A final decision on whether the administration’s actions warrants a contempt citation will follow that hearing.