THE rIGHT VS RELIGION:

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.

"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."

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