Bishops, Catholic leaders continue to speak out against Trump immigration changes

(OSV News) -- Catholic bishops, clergy and religious across the nation continue to weigh in on the Trump administration's sweeping changes to U.S. immigration policy, stressing the need to respect human dignity amid efforts to address immigration challenges.

In Texas, Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller of San Antonio led a Feb. 17 town hall on immigration organized by that archdiocese, bringing together the city's mayor, the county sheriff and the head of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, along with other local Catholic leaders, to discuss and clarify concerns over Trump immigration policy revisions.

Within a month of his inauguration, President Donald Trump has pledged mass deportations of unauthorized migrants, canceled existing immigration processing appointments for others, rescinded deportation safeguards by revoking Temporary Protected Status for people from several nations in crisis; halted asylum, humanitarian parole and sponsorship programs; and expanded the abilities of immigration law enforcement to make arrests at houses of worship, schools and other locations previously regarded as "sensitive."

In his opening remarks, Archbishop García-Siller recapped Catholic social teaching on immigration, which holds that people have the right to migrate to sustain their lives, nations have the right to regulate their borders and control immigration, and that nations must regulate their borders with justice and mercy.

The Catholic Church "emphasizes that all the process" of regulating immigration must be conducted "with respect," said the archbishop.

"And that is a very difficult task, but otherwise it is not humane and destroys individuals, families and society," said Archbishop García-Siller, adding that "the pursuit of the common good is very strongly emphasized" in Catholic social teaching on migration, since "we need to see each other with the same dignity."

Panelist J. Antonio Fernández, president and CEO of Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of San Antonio, said the partnership between his agency and law enforcement in assisting migrants directed to them by authorities was "a great work between the city and the Catholic Church."

He said providing humanitarian services to migrants set to appear before immigration officials served community safety purposes -- a point echoed by fellow panelist San Antonio Mayor Ron Nirenberg.

"The way we dealt with providing for safety and order is that we opened what many people know as the Migrant Resource Center, in partnership with Catholic Charities and the archdiocese, as a way of providing safety, not just for people who are arriving, but for the community as well," said Nirenberg. "Our approach with the ... center is to do all three of those things: provide for public safety, maintain order in the process and treat people with dignity. We are only able to do that because we've had tremendous partnership with our community, starting with Catholic Charities and the archdiocese."

An organization founded by women religious has also addressed the Trump administration's immigration changes, highlighting their impact on unaccompanied minors.

The Alliance to End Human Trafficking issued a Feb. 20 statement decrying a Feb. 18 stop-work order issued by the Department of the Interior ending federally funded work for unaccompanied minors.

The group's executive director, Katie Boller Gosewisch, called the move "deeply troubling," saying that "without support, including legal services, children face an increased risk of human trafficking, abuse and wrongful deportation to dangerous conditions.

"This policy decision effectively abandons some of the most vulnerable individuals in our immigration system and leaves them vulnerable to a myriad of abuses, including being trafficked for labor or sex," said Gosewich.

Following the conclusion of their Franciscan Synod in January, the Province of Our Lady of Guadalupe's provincial council also released a statement, opposing mass deportation in favor of a path that effectively secures the border "through an immigration system governed by mercy and justice."

"While we agree that the U.S. immigration system has -- for too long -- needed significant changes and updating, the direction being taken by the new administration will, we believe, cause more harm than good -- such as tearing families apart, moving us toward a police state, sowing fear, chaos and confusion among the many hard-working and law-abiding immigrants who have been part of our communities for so many years, and inviting further demonization of immigrants," said the Franciscan friars' statement.

The plight of immigrants was also recently raised by the incoming archbishop of Washington, Cardinal Robert W. McElroy, who will be installed as the national capital's eighth archbishop on March 11.

"The rights of every man, woman, and child are inviolate. ... when our society violates those rights, we must speak up with clarity," Cardinal McElroy said during a Feb. 9 prayer service for immigrants at St. Joseph Cathedral in San Diego, his former see.

At the prayer service, Cardinal McElroy affirmed while "Catholic teaching says that the nation has the right to secure its borders," that right must be exercised "in a way that respects the dignity of all."

However, he said, "What we are witnessing is far different than that. It is not a targeted effort to secure the border. It has become an indiscriminate campaign to bring fear into the hearts of every undocumented person, man, woman, mother, and child in our society. Those who are our coworkers, those who are our neighbors, those who worship with us, those who have lived here for so long, helping to build up our society.

"We cannot stay silent," said Cardinal McElroy. "We must speak up and proclaim that this unfolding misery and suffering, and yes, war of fear and terror, cannot be tolerated. We must speak up and say, 'Go no further,' because our brothers and sisters, who are being targeted, are too precious in our eyes and in God's eyes."