St. Louis Archdiocese Sues Over ICE Sacrament Limits

Archbishop Mitchell Rozanski and Father Christopher Schroeder sued Ste. Genevieve Detention Center officials, DHS, ICE, and the Office of Professional Responsibility on Oct. 5, 2026. The suit says clergy get only a four-hour Monday window and no-contact glass-and-telephone visits, blocking confession, Communion, Mass, and other sacraments. The facility houses about 150 immigration detainees and has held about 3,000 since a mid-2025 ICE contract; the filing says one detainee died there. Most detainees are described as Hispanic Catholics. The archdiocese says it requested a clergy accommodation and was refused, that lawyers and consular officials get more permissive access, and that the limits conflict with ICE guidance allowing clergy visits after sheriff notification. Contested are the proposed fix and the security rationale. After a reporter inquired, Maj. Jason Schott suggested clergy pass Communion in a plastic bag to a guard for delivery. The filing calls that "no accommodation at all," saying only an appointed minister may give Communion because of Christ's real presence. The archdiocese says the jail cited "safety and security risks" and that priests might smuggle "contraband"; the filing says Schott does not explain how the consecrated host could be contraband. DHS did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The archdiocese seeks religious-liberty protections.