
Appeals Court Backs Philadelphia Yearly Meeting
in Lawsuit Against Trump Administration
In January 2025, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting (PYM), our neighbors in New York, New England and Baltimore Yearly Meetings, along with several other faith communities, filed a lawsuit against the Department of Homeland Security to challenge an executive order by the Trump administration. The order allowed ICE agents to enter formerly protected spaces, including houses of worship like Quaker meetings. On August 18, the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in favor of PYM and the coalition.
The following PYM press release statements from PYM leadership and Democracy Forward refer to the Philadelphia Yearly Meeting’s lawsuit against the Trump administration to protect religious freedom and the right to worship without fear in spiritual communities.
Click this link to read the press release: https://www.pym.org/appeals-court-backs-philadelphia-yearly-meeting-in-lawsuit-against-trump-administration-press-release/
8/20/2026