ICE and Missouri jail sued over restricting sacraments for detained immigrants, DHS denies allegations
Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski and Father Chris Schroeder filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Southeast Division.
ICE agents in Ventura, California/ Benjamin Hanson
The Archdiocese of St. Louis filed a federal lawsuit on Monday against officials at the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center in Missouri, and against members of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), over alleged restrictions on Catholic religious services for detained immigrants. According to the complaint, the county jail and ICE are violating the First Amendment by preventing priests from administering Communion, hearing confessions, and celebrating Mass for detainees.
Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski and Father Chris Schroeder filed the lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, Southeast Division. In addition to the lawsuit, they filed a motion for a preliminary injunction requesting that the court order the detention center to suspend its policies while the litigation is pending.
Specifically, the lawsuit argues that priests need private, face-to-face contact with inmates for confession and communion, but that the prison only allows visits through a glass partition and by phone, without physical contact.
Furthermore, clergy visiting hours are limited to four hours on Mondays, which reduces the number of inmates a priest can minister to. The lawsuit also asserts that this rule is not applied equally, as it includes exceptions for attorneys and consular officials.
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"Offering and receiving these sacraments is a central tenet of our faith. Catholics receive the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and the deprivation of these sacraments imposes real and immediate harm on Catholic detainees and priests," the archdiocese stated in a press release.
The lawsuit invokes the First Amendment, the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), and federal and Missouri religious freedom laws. It further argues that priests do administer the sacraments in other jails in the area.
Among the defendants are Sheriff Gary Stolzer, Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin, and Acting ICE Director David Venturella. As for why the lawsuit includes ICE, the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center has been housing immigrants detained by ICE since mid-2025, according to the complaint. For this reason, the archdiocese argues that ICE can require that religious services be provided.
DHS response
"These allegations are FALSE. (...) Detainees are given the opportunity to practice their religions. All religious items are permitted as soon as detainees make the request. DHS ensures detainees are accommodated with religious services, including access to Catholic priests, the Sacrament of the Eucharist, and the Sacrament of Penance as requested," a DHS spokesperson told the media outlet.
"Let's be clear: county restrictions on physical contact do not mean religious services are denied. DHS has done its due diligence. The media should do theirs before turning a facility security protocol into another misleading headline," the spokesperson added.
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