The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a statement condemning the immigration policies of President Donald Trump, calling for reforms that prioritize human dignity while maintaining national security. The conference voted nearly unanimously to pass the statement at the Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore, Maryland, on Wednesday, with 216 votes in favor, five against, and three abstentions.
“We recognize that nations have a responsibility to regulate their borders and establish a just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good,” the bishops stated. “As pastors, we the bishops of the United States are bound to our people by ties of communion and compassion in Our Lord Jesus Christ. We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.”
The statement expressed concern over the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care, noting that “some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status.” It also opposed “indiscriminate mass deportation” and called for an end to “dehumanizing rhetoric and violence” against immigrants and law enforcement.
“We are troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools,” they continued. “We are grieved when we meet parents who fear being detained when taking their children to school and when we try to console family members who have already been separated from their loved ones.”
The last time the USCCB issued a similar statement was in 2013 against political policies related to contraceptives. The bishops emphasized that “without such processes, immigrants face the risk of trafficking and other forms of exploitation. Safe and legal pathways serve as an antidote to such risks.”
