‘GRAVEN IMAGES’

Amish Couple Sues U.S. For Photograph Requirement in Permanent Residency Application

The Old Order Amish believe being photographed violates the Bible's Second Commandment.

An Amish couple sued the federal government on Wednesday for requiring the Canadian wife to provide a photo of herself in order to obtain U.S. permanent residency, when it is against their religious beliefs to be photographed. According to the Associated Press, the anonymous couple claims that the government is violating their constitutional rights by forcing them to violate their Old Order Amish belief that portraits are “graven images” that goes against the Bible's Second Commandment. They filed the suit against the United States, the Department of Homeland Security, and Citizenship and Immigration Services in Indianapolis' U.S. District Court as a “last resort.” The husband and wife approached “various Department of Justice administrative and congressional officials” to try to solve the matter without litigation but failed. The couple reportedly has no other choices but for the wife to leave her husband and 13 children behind, or for the whole family to leave the United States—which the husband and children have never done. The couple is reportedly open to other biometric identification, like “fingerprints or iris scans,” but are vehemently against the photograph requirement. “Their fear is certainly that an adverse outcome could leave them torn apart by a border and they want to live together.” their lawyer, Michael H. Sampson, said. “They want avoid being torn apart across nations.”