America’s Catholic bishops voted almost unanimously this week to condemn what they called “indiscriminate mass deportation” and to urge Catholics to defend the “God-given human dignity” of migrants.
The statement also includes a recognition of the need for nations to “regulate their borders,” and lists some of the dangers that occur when immigration laws are not followed.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops approved a “special message” on immigration during its fall plenary assembly in Baltimore with 216 votes in favor, five opposed and three abstentions, a result described as “overwhelming” support by the conference itself, which noted that the rare mechanism is reserved for particularly urgent moments.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the bishops stood and applauded after the vote was finalized.
The conference’s statement noted that it is the first time in 12 years they have used a “special message” to speak together as a body, a mechanism last invoked in 2013 to oppose the federal contraceptive mandate in the Affordable Care Act. The conference framed the new message as a response to a growing “climate of fear and anxiety” surrounding immigration enforcement.
Intermountain Catholic, the official newspaper for the Diocese of Salt Lake City, shared the official statement to its Facebook account.
‘We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people’
In the statement, the bishops said, “We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.”
The bishops said they feel “compelled” in the present environment “to raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity.” Adding, “We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people.”
While President Donald Trump is not named in the statement, it describes actions taken by the Trump administration to quickly remove immigrants in the United States illegally.
The bishops catalogued specific concerns, including the conditions of detention conditions, a lack of access to pastoral care and what they described as the arbitrary loss of legal status for some immigrants. The bishops also said they are “troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools,” and “grieved” when they meet “parents who fear being detained while taking their children to school.”
The bishops’ statement included recognizing the responsibility to regulate borders while expressing the importance of finding humane ways to do so.
“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 statement reads. “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.”
They also expressed the need to end “dehumanizing rhetoric and violence, whether directed at immigrants or at law enforcement.”
Trump administration response: ‘He is keeping his promise’
The Trump administration has defended its policies as a fulfillment of campaign pledges. White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson told Newsweek, “President Trump was elected as the President of the United States based on the many promises he made to the American people, including his promise to deport criminal illegal aliens. He is keeping his promise to the American people.”
In October, Tricia McLaughlin, who serves as assistant secretary for public affairs of the Department of Homeland Security, said, “More than 2 million illegal aliens have left the U.S. including 1.6 million who have voluntarily self-deported and over 527,000 deportations.”
Bishops public stance after Pope Leo XIV’s comments
Observers see the message as part of a broader shift in Catholic leadership on immigration. The Catholic News Agency reported that the bishops’ remarks echo recent interventions from Pope Leo XIV, who has repeatedly criticized the treatment of migrants and urged faith leaders to be allowed access to detention facilities.
They also noted that earlier this month, Pope Leo called for “deep reflection” on how migrants are treated and taught that people will be judged by how they received “the foreigner.”
The pope met last month with Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso — who chairs the USCCB migration committee — and other advocates and told them: “The church cannot stay silent before injustice. You stand with me, and I stand with you,” per the Catholic News Agency.
The Washington Post reported that the bishops’ internal debate has intensified in recent months as the Trump administration escalated enforcement and as U.S. Catholics themselves remain divided on the issue. Fifty-five percent of U.S. Catholics voted for Trump and 58% of Hispanic Catholics supported then-Democratic candidate Kamala Harris, according to data from Pew Research Center.
Some Catholic individuals also shared a different point of view on immigration. Benjamin Mann of Catholic Vote wrote about his perspective on the United State’s responsibility with migration.
“America’s role in the world cannot simply be to give everyone maximum access to our prosperity,” he wrote. “Without neglecting the global common good, every country must seriously face the question of who it can, or cannot, reasonably accommodate.”
‘You are not alone’: A new nationwide initiative
During the conference, the bishops unveiled “You Are Not Alone,” a new national initiative to mobilize parishes and dioceses to accompany immigrants facing deportation. Catholic News Agency reported that the program is designed to help Catholics offer direct aid and solidarity and was inspired by efforts already underway in dioceses across the country.
Bishop Seitz introduced the initiative at a plenary assembly, saying that it focuses on four areas: emergency and family support, accompaniment and pastoral care, communication of church teaching, and solidarity through prayer and public witness.
“Of course as pastors devoted to the Gospel, we know statements are not enough,” Bishop Seitz told his fellow bishops during his remarks on Nov. 11.
The USCCB’s official description said the program is meant to embody scriptural commands to care for “those who are most vulnerable,” including “the stranger,” and to respond to Christ’s call to “love as he has loved us.”
Internal debate and a last-minute amendment
Catholic News Agency reported that Cardinal Blase Cupich of Chicago introduced a last-minute amendment, adding explicit language opposing “the indiscriminate deportation of people,” arguing that the bishops needed to tell migrants clearly: “We stand with you.”
The Washington Post reported that Cardinal Cupich asked the other bishops, “How can we say to the people who are suffering that ‘We stand with you’ if we don’t say we are opposed to the indiscriminate deportation of people?”
At the same time, several bishops praised the message for balancing concern for immigrants with respect for law enforcement and the need for an orderly system.
Catholic News Agency noted that no bishops spoke against the amendment, and the conference later said that the special message is meant to show “the consensus of the body.”
Some bishops said they wished the statement had gone even further. The Post reported that Bishop Oscar Cantú of San Jose told the assembly he would have liked stronger language and later emailed the Post to say that “when we see assaults on human dignity, as we have been witnessing in this year’s deportation campaign, we need to speak with moral conviction.”
Catholic leaders and advocates said the statement is a beginning, not an endpoint. Cardinal Cupich later told The Washington Post he hopes the bishops’ actions will prompt clergy and lay Catholics to study church teaching about the rights of immigrants and nations and to “reflect from a perspective of faith rather than politics.”