A federal judge has blocked the Trump administration from conducting immigration raids at certain Quaker, Sikh, and Baptist places of worship after several groups filed a lawsuit last month. 

The Trump administration rolled back a Biden-era rule that limited immigration raids on “protected areas,” such as churches and schools. 

United States District Judge Theodore Chuang, an appointee of former President Barack Obama, ruled on Monday that the Trump administration’s policy change created a “chilling” effect on these places of worship as migrant attendees feared being targeted in U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement raids. 

“Plaintiffs have provided evidence that the willingness of their congregants to attend worship and participate in ministry services is presently being chilled, and that, particularly at [Cooperative Baptist Fellowship] and the Sikh Temple, attendance at such activities has already declined,” Chuang wrote.

However, Chuang stopped short of ruling on whether the Trump administration was in violation of the religious groups’ freedom of speech or freedom of religion rights, saying only that “a return to the status quo” is “warranted until the exact contours of what is necessary to avoid unlawful infringement on religious exercise are determined later in this case.”

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Chuang’s ruling only applies to blocking federal raids at the religious institutions involved in the lawsuit, which include several Quaker groups, CBF, and Sikh Temple Sacramento. 

Other religious groups, mostly of Episcopal and Jewish faiths, have filed their own lawsuit against the Trump administration for its policy.