Catholic Democrats say ICE is violating God’s will with deportation surge
Catholic Democrats in Congress say ICE is violating God’s precepts in carrying out President Trump’s mass deportation mission.
More than 40 Catholic members of the House released a statement of principles saying their church’s teaching is that every migrant “is Christ himself.”
“We feel called in solidarity to stand with immigrants — especially those who are poor, marginalized, or fleeing hardship — and to ensure they are treated with dignity, justice, and compassion,” the Democrats wrote. “As Catholics and elected officials, we believe that addressing long-standing inequities and expanding meaningful opportunities for immigrants is an essential part of our responsibility to community and to those most in need.”
The lawmakers, in their Friday statement, said Catholic teaching allows for nations to control their borders, but “it is never a license for cruelty, indifference or dehumanization.”
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The Catholic representatives specifically targeted U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, the government’s two main agencies tasked with arresting and ousting illegal immigrants, who last month were involved in the shooting deaths of two U.S. citizens in Minneapolis.
“Their actions have separated families, removed law-abiding individuals from our communities, and tragically, contributed to the deaths of detained migrants and citizens like Renee Good and Alex Pretti,” the lawmakers said.
God’s view of immigration enforcement has taken center stage in recent weeks.
House Speaker Mike Johnson, a Southern Baptist who frequently defends conservative Christian views, posted a lengthy discussion of the case for immigration enforcement on social media on Feb. 3, declaring “borders are biblical.”
“The Bible is clear that Christians should practice personal charity — but also insist upon the enforcement of laws (like our federal immigration statutes) so that ’every person is subject to the governing authorities’ and ‘those who resist incur judgment,’” he wrote, citing chapter 13 of St. Paul’s letter to the Romans.
His post reprised an exchange he had with Democrats in 2023, before he ascended to the House speakership, where he sparred over language in the Book of Leviticus encouraging the welcoming of foreigners.
He said that admonition applied to the faithful as individuals, but not to the machinery of the state, which had a different duty.
“You have to see to whom the order is given. That order is not given to civil authorities and the government. That order is given to individuals,” the Louisiana Republican said. “We do reach out to the sojourner, but it is not the job of the federal government to do it.”
He added: “We don’t build walls because we hate the people on the outside. We build walls because we love the people on the inside.”
Archbishop John C. Wester, who oversees the archdiocese in Santa Fe, New Mexico, fired back, complaining that Mr. Johnson was twisting “theological language and sacred texts” in order to diminish the fundamental dignity of human beings created in the image of God.”
“To suggest that compassion, dignity, and respect for the stranger are merely personal virtues rather than obligations of society betrays a fundamental misunderstanding of Christian ethics,” the archbishop wrote.
He said the country can have both “strong policies and humane treatment.”
Some of the country’s Catholic leaders have denounced the way the enforcement surge has played out, and even went so far as to back Democrats’ strategy of a partial shutdown that focused on the Homeland Security Department to try to force changes.
The White House last week said it was ending the Minnesota enforcement surge but insisted Mr. Trump remains committed to his mass deportation goal.
The latest deportation data shows ICE is averaging roughly 1,400 formal removals per day in 2026. That’s more than double the rate at the end of the Biden administration.
If carried out for a year, it would work out to about 500,000 removals.
