Archdiocese of St. Louis sues federal government over policy barring sacraments to ICE detainees

Archbishop Mitchell Thomas Rozanski and the Archdiocese of St. Louis filed a lawsuit in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri on Oct. 5 against the federal government and a local sheriff. The suit alleges that visitation policies at the Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center prevent Catholic priests from administering the sacraments of confession and Communion to migrants held by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

The archdiocese claims the facility's no-contact policy requires clergy to speak with detainees through a glass partition, preventing the administration of sacraments. The lawsuit also states that priests are barred from saying Mass and are limited to a single four-hour visit per week. The filing notes that while lawyers and consular officials are permitted to visit under more permissive rules, the archdiocese's requests for accommodations were refused.

The Ste. Genevieve County Detention Center has held approximately 3,000 migrants since mid-2025 and currently houses about 150 detainees. In a statement, the archdiocese said the deprivation of these sacraments imposes real and immediate harm on both priests and Catholic detainees.

The Department of Homeland Security rejected the claims in a statement on Oct. 6, disputing that jail policies interfere with religious practice and asserting that detainees have access to Catholic sacraments.