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News


NEW DOCUMENTS SHOW GOVERNMENT TARGETED NYC PASTOR FOR OFFICIATING IMMIGRANT
WEDDINGS


"MY FAITH AND BELIEF IN MINISTERING TO THE VULNERABLE BROUGHT ME TO THE BORDER,”
THE REV. KAJI DOUŠA SAID. “IT'S NOW UNDENIABLY CLEAR THAT THE GOVERNMENT
TARGETED ME FOR THIS VERY CALLING."

The Rev. Kaji Douša. Courtesy photo
January 9, 2020
By
Jack Jenkins
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(RNS) — New documents unearthed in an ongoing federal lawsuit indicate the U.S.
government surveilled and investigated a New York pastor and immigrant rights
activist over allegations that she committed marriage fraud by officiating
immigrant weddings along the U.S.-Mexico border.

But the cleric says she did nothing wrong and is accusing the federal government
of violating her religious freedom by targeting her.


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“My faith and belief in ministering to the vulnerable brought me to the border,”
the Rev. Kaji Douša, senior pastor of Park Avenue Christian Church in New York,
told Religion News Service in a statement. “It’s now undeniably clear the
government targeted me for this very calling, based on the language contained in
its own documents. This evidence reinforces the need for me to fight this
injustice — to stand up for my First Amendment rights and the dignity of the
people I serve.”

The documents, which RNS has seen, were uncovered as part of a lawsuit filed
against the federal government in July. Douša, who regularly appears on MSNBC to
comment on immigration issues, claims government officials infringed on her
religious liberty in January 2019 when they detained and surveilled her after
she began ministering to Central American asylum-seekers in the migrant caravan
along the U.S. Southern border.

The Rev. Kaji Douša as she appears in an alleged government database. According
to documents leaked to NBC, the yellow “X” indicates her SENTRI status has been
revoked. Photo courtesy of Kaji Douša

The pastor first learned the scope of the government’s surveillance in March,
when a San Diego NBC affiliate published leaked Department of Homeland Security
documents believed to be part of an “Operation Secure Line” program overseen by
the U.S. government to track and scrutinize immigrant rights activists. Among
those listed in the documents was Douša, whose face was crossed out with a
yellow “X” to indicate that her SENTRI pass — a system that allows for expedited
screening along the Southwest U.S.-Mexico border — had been revoked.

In a new brief filed on Dec. 20, Douša’s lawyers point to documents accrued
through the legal discovery process showing the government was investigating the
pastor because it suspected her of potentially committing marriage fraud —
namely, by officiating the weddings of immigrants camping out on the Mexico side
of the border as part of the migrant caravan.

“Identified as performing marriage ceremonies in Tijuana,” the Border Patrol
Intelligence Unit document reads.

According to a separate declaration from Douša, the pastor did perform
“approximately 17 marriages” for asylum-seekers with the help of other clergy
who were participating in a 40-day “Sanctuary Caravan” designed to aid
immigrants at the border. But Douša notes that marriages were not an attempt to
violate U.S. law, arguing she made “no representations regarding the legal
impact our religious ceremonies would have in any application for asylum” and
pointing to a document she helped create that encouraged clergy to “make sure
the people understand it is a religious ceremony and certificate.”

The December brief contends the government targeted Douša for performing
religious ministry to migrants, which is protected under the Constitution and
the 1993 Religious Freedom Restoration Act and is described as a “core part” of
Douša’s faith.

“(Douša) alleges that (the government) chose her as one of their targets because
she engaged in ‘acts of devotion commanded by the core tenets of her Christian
faith’ — namely, advocating for and ministering to migrants in New York and at
the Southern Border by blessing their marriages, dedicating their children to
Christ, hearing their confessions, and providing them other forms of pastoral
care,” the brief reads.

The brief argues the government’s actions have “upended Pastor Douša’s
ministry,” stating that “uncontested evidence shows that Pastor Dousa has
curtailed her ministry, both at the Southern Border and in New York, because she
fears Defendants will continue to target her based on her protected conduct.”

The brief then lists examples, noting the pastor has also canceled a planned
trip to Mexico and refrained from blessing marriages of migrants.

“(Douša) feels compelled to warn penitents about the possibility of government
surveillance, chilling her ability to provide pastoral counseling and
absolution,” the brief reads. “Her church has declined to host a pro se asylum
clinic and has seen migrants and refugees deterred from participating in church
activities.”

The authors add that the government has not indicated that Operation Secure Line
— or the database referencing Douša — has been dismantled or rescinded.

Meanwhile, the new documents also list Douša as possibly connected with antifa,
a loose group of anti-fascist activists known for violently clashing with white
supremacists in the streets of Charlottesville, Virginia, in 2017.

When asked about the connection, Douša told RNS: “To be honest I don’t even know
what antifa is.”

The pastor has garnered widespread support for her cause: In July, 850 religious
leaders signed an open letter backing her lawsuit against the government. 

“The work that we do as clergy is crucial to them,” the letter read in part. “We
believe there to be a right for us to offer our pastoral services. … In this
country, the government cannot decide to whom we may preach or with whom we may
pray.”

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