Pax Christi USA statement on Executive Orders impacting immigration

Thus says the Lord of hosts: Render true judgments, show kindness and compassion toward each other. Do not oppress the widow or the orphan, the alien or the poor; do not plot evil against one another in your hearts. – Zechariah 7:9-10

Pax Christi USA is deeply concerned about and vigorously condemns the recent Executive Orders on immigration issued by the new Trump administration, which enable mass deportations, militarizes immigration enforcement, expands detention infrastructure, and effectively ends asylum, violating not only the rights and dignity of millions of immigrants and their families, but also the very traditions that have made our country a beacon to refugees fleeing violence and persecution the world over. 

The drastic and draconian measures being put in place by the Trump administration are sowing fear among immigrants and their families, threatening to tear families apart and put in danger the lives of those waiting in Mexico to apply for asylum in the United States.

As many as 11 million people in the United States are reported to be undocumented, not for fault of their own, but because Congress and prior administrations have failed for 40 years to pass legislation that would fix our broken immigration system. 

We cannot ignore such cruelty, and we call on Pax Christi members and Catholic leaders to elevate our voices and stand in solidarity with immigrants and their families, whose inherent dignity is a foundation of our faith.

“Rather than focus on real solutions to the immigration issues,” said Pax Christi USA Executive Director Charlene Howard, “we lament that the new administration has used racist and xenophobic language like ‘an invasion’ at the southern border, painting immigrants with a broad stroke as ‘criminals’ to fan fear and pit communities against each other.”

Bishop John Stowe, OFM Conv, from Lexington KY, bishop president of Pax Christi USA, raised concern just weeks after the November election: “To stand with immigrants and refugees, recognizing that we are all sojourners with no lasting home, will be more costly in many ways.” 

Background to the crisis

In the first few days of the new administration, President Donald Trump wasted no time in issuing dozens of Executive Orders. With several strokes of the pen, he declared a national emergency at the southern border, and sent the first deployment of 1,500 US military to the border to enforce his orders.

The president effectively shut down the asylum system, forcing migrants to once again remain in Mexico, risking their lives, given the dangers of cartel and police violence there. He declared an end to birthright citizenship, empowered federal authorities to conduct enforcement actions in traditionally protected areas like schools and churches, and called for expanding immigrant detention capacity and expedited removal, a fast-tracking deportation process that denies due process to immigrants. (These actions were promptly challenged by lawsuits and judicial blocks.) The administration is also pressing local police to cooperate in immigration enforcement, threatening to cut funds and prosecute officials who have declared their localities as sanctuary municipalities. Mayors of several cities and governors of several states are pushing back.

Already in rural communities and in cities across the nation, ICE agents, often accompanied by U.S. marshals, AFT and DEA agents, the FBI, and even the Border Patrol, have conducted raids, arresting as many as 1,000 immigrants a day, supposedly targeting immigrants with criminal records but also arresting many more immigrants who have no such history. 

The response from the Church

In a January 22 statement, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), called these Executive Orders “deeply troubling,” because they “will harm the most vulnerable among us.” Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, NJ warned against the impact of mass deportation on children and families, and the newly appointed archbishop of Washington DC, Cardinal Robert McElroy, said that plans for mass deportation run contrary to the tenets of Catholic Social Teaching. Cardinal Joseph Cupich of Chicago has also spoken out.

Archbishop John Wester of Santa Fe NM also rejected mass deportation and “simplistic” solutions such as open or closed borders. “The United States owes much to immigrants,” he said, adding that “we must not treat immigrants as mere pawns in a game of chess, nor politicize them.”

(See “Bishops condemn Trump’s immigration orders for stoking fear, anxiety,” National Catholic Reporter)

El Paso’s Bishop Mark Seitz, head of the USCCB’s committee on migration, condemned the decision to permit immigration raids in schools and churches, a measure he said that “strikes fear into the heart of our community,” creating anxiety for families “worshiping God, seeking healthcare, and dropping off and picking up children at school.”

Even Pope Francis weighed in on inauguration day urging President Trump to reject “hatred, discrimination or exclusion,” and denouncing the president’s plans for mass deportation, which if true, he said, “were disgraceful.”

Many women religious congregations are also speaking out and organizing at local levels to offer protection to immigrant communities. And in response to the president’s recission of protected areas from immigration enforcement, the Catholic Health Association, Catholic Charities USA, and USCCB issued a joint statement, ”Human dignity is not dependent on a person’s citizenship or immigration status,” warning that “turning places of care, healing, and solace into places of fear and uncertainty for those in need, while endangering the trust between pastors, providers, educators and the people they serve, will not make our communities safer.”

From day one, President Trump’s Executive Orders and Vice President JD Vance’s recent comments have put the new administration on a collision course with Pope Francis and the USCCB who have been vocal in their opposition to these orders. The vice president, who became a Catholic in 2019, said in a January 26 interview that the Catholic bishops “have not been a good partner” in supporting “the immigration enforcement that the American people voted for … I hope that they’ll do better.”

A call to raise our voices

President Trump’s Executive Orders already are facing fierce public opposition, including from lawsuits that have been filed and from federal judges, one of whom has already blocked his attempt to repeal birthright citizenship. In directly and respectfully addressing President Trump in the national prayer service following Inauguration Day, Bishop Mariann Budde of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington made clear broad public opposition on faith grounds to these drastic measures – words which ignited both strong support as well as a demand from President Trump for an apology —an indication of the costs of speaking truth to power.

“Everyone is a child of God and deserves respect,” said Fr. Chris Ponnet, a Pax Christi USA Ambassador of Peace and pastor and chaplain in East Los Angeles. “Each of our patients or neighbors are each a child of God. We must stand up. We must not be silent. This is our time of solidarity.”

We invite all members of Pax Christi USA to continue to boldly speak out, organize public prayer vigils, advocate with elected officials, and lend solidarity to our immigrant sisters and brothers.  

We join with the many immigrant rights groups, civic organizations and faith communities, local governments and major cities that are organizing to protect immigrants, including calling on local police departments not to cooperate with federal agents in mass deportation efforts. 

And we continue to support the work of organizations like the Catholic Legal Immigration Network (CLINIC), USCCB’s Justice for Immigrants network, and Catholic parishes and their pastors who are being explicit in their welcome of immigrants, promoting “Know Your Rights” resources, and pledging to defend the rights of their immigrant parishioners and the sanctity of their churches as sanctuaries.

“This is a critical moment in our nation’s history and our democracy – and for our Church,” said Sherry Simon, chair of the Pax Christi USA national council. “Welcoming the stranger and defending our immigrant sisters and brothers is not only or primarily a tenet of Catholic Social Teaching; it is the heart of the Gospel and who we are as followers of Jesus Christ.”

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See also: “Love neighbors: Most vulnerable live in fear,” an opinion piece written by Pax Christi USA national council chair Sherry Simon, published in the January 31 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette.