Religious groups ask judge to consider contempt over undercover ICE operation

It's the latest moment of tension between President Donald Trump 's mass deportation efforts and religious institutions.

Asked regarding the purported violation, a Department of Homeland Security spokesperson stated the agency "does not comment on the existence or status of specific on-going investigations, nor on investigative methods" and directed questions to federal prosecutors in Minnesota. A spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's office there declined to comment.

According to the contempt motion filed Thursday, administration lawyers have argued that Saylor 's order only prohibited immigration enforcement in churches and related facilities and did not extend to criminal investigations, even if those probes were carried out by a component of ICE.

But attorneys for the churches stress that the judge's order barred operations aimed "in whole or in part" at enforcing immigration laws. Furthermore, the full scope of the investigation that led to the dropped recorder incident remains unclear.

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In short, religious groups ask judge to consider contempt over undercover ICE operation is the central thread here, and readers can expect follow-up reporting as the picture becomes clearer.