The Catholic Archdiocese of St. Louis has filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri against the Department of Homeland Security and the local sheriff’s office. The suit claims that immigrants detained at a Saint Genevieve County Jail are being denied private visits with priests and access to sacraments such as communion and confession.
According to the complaint, clergy are permitted to visit the jail only during a four‑hour window on Mondays and must communicate through phone calls made from glass partitions. The lawsuit argues that this schedule and lack of privacy prevent priests from performing pastoral duties. Immigration and Customs Enforcement states that religious figures may visit detainees at any time after notifying the sheriff’s office, but the archdiocese says ICE is not enforcing those guidelines.
Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski said the denial of privacy “robs the detainees of their rights to have access to these sacraments.” He noted that most of the roughly 150 Hispanic Catholic detainees cannot hear confessions, celebrate Mass, or receive the anointing of the sick. Rozanski also described a proposal to hand consecrated hosts to guards as sacrilegious, citing the Catholic prohibition against electronic confession and the belief that the Eucharist must be handled only by ordained clergy.
The archdiocese seeks court intervention to grant clergy the same visitation access that attorneys and consular officials receive. ICE, DHS, the jail, and the sheriff’s office have not yet responded to requests for comment. The lawsuit comes amid a broader immigration crackdown that has drawn criticism from human‑rights groups over alleged abuses that ICE denies.
