New Mexico bishops speak out against mass deportations

The Catholic bishops of New Mexico this week articulated a strong statement against a policy of mass deportation of unauthorized immigrants, a policy that President-elect Donald Trump has promised repeatedly implement.

“A policy of mass deportation will not fix the broken immigration system, but will instead create chaos, family separation, and traumatization of children,” wrote Bishop John Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe; Mons. Peter Baldacchino, Bishop of Las Cruces; and Bishop James Wall, Bishop of Gallup; in a statement published by Santa Fe New Mexican.

“While it is necessary to expel those who cause us harm, deporting immigrants who have built equity in our communities and do not pose a threat is contrary to humanitarian principles and our national interest,” the bishops continued.

“We urge the new administration to reconsider this proposed deportation policy and instead return to bipartisan negotiations to repair the United States immigration system.”

New Mexico shares a nearly 180-mile border with Mexico and relies heavily on migrants to provide labor. An estimated 25,000 to 75,000 immigrants were residing illegally in New Mexico in 2022, according to estimates del Pew Research Center.

The statement by the New Mexico bishops follows words last month by Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, head of the U.S. bishops’ immigration committee, who said that if the Trump administration promotes immigration measures that violate basic human rights, the nation’s Catholic bishops are prepared to “speak out loud.”

Bishop Seitz said the bishops were “concerned” about Trump’s immigration rhetoric on the campaign trail, including Trump’s estimate of “about a million people a year” deported, but that they “do not want to get ahead” of the administration. before he announces his specific plans.

“We are waiting to see what exactly takes shape,” Bishop Seitz said Nov. 12, speaking to the media at the fall assembly of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB). in Baltimore.

Bishop Seitz said the USCCB recognizes that some immigrants have not entered the country legally, but emphasized that the U.S. government must distinguish between those who have committed additional crimes from those who, “for the benefit of our country, should be able to stay.” ”.

There are an estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants across the United States, according to July 2023 statistics from the Center for Migration Studies. Trump has vowed to deport all migrants who are in the country illegally and has said the plan, which has been criticized as financially unviable, “will be priceless.” The proposal has resulted highly controversial within Catholic circles.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that countries, especially wealthier ones, should try to welcome migrants “as far as possible,” but that nations also have the right to regulate migration.

The experts cited by the National Catholic Registerwhile they noted that a policy of mass deportations would be economically damaging, they also warned that it risks creating a “police state” where human dignity and the right to seek asylum are undermined, damaging family unity and the common good.

Others, such as Ken Cuccinelli, former acting deputy secretary of the US Department of Homeland Security during the Trump administration, maintain that the scale of the possible deportation program has nothing to do with the underlying moral dimension.

“I don’t think the scale really has any effect on the moral question,” Cuccinelli, a Catholic, told the Register.

“Wealthier nations have an obligation to welcome migrants, and migrants have an obligation to respect the laws and customs of the place they migrate to, and the people we are talking about have not done that,” said Cuccinelli, rreferring to the Catechism.

Paul Hunker, a Catholic and immigration attorney who previously served as a senior attorney for U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in Dallas, told EWTN’s CNA this week News — that he believes it is “quite reasonable” for Catholics to oppose a program of “large-scale arrests by ICE targeting undocumented noncitizens.”

“Many of these people have lived in the United States for years and have deep ties, including children and spouses who are American citizens. Expelling these individuals inflicts significant harm on them, their families and society,” Hunker noted.

He noted a notable dissent from a 19th-century U.S. Supreme Court case upholding the removal of long-term resident noncitizens, in which Justice Stephen Field wrote that “a forced deportation from the country of residence and the severance of all friendship, family and business relationships contracted there” constitutes a “cruel and unusual” punishment.

“While this may not fully apply to those who have recently arrived in the United States, it resonates for most long-term resident noncitizens,” Hunker said.

For his part, Pope Francis spoke during the summer some of the clearest words of his pontificate in support of migrants and in rebuke of those who distance themselves from them.

“It must be said clearly: there are those who work systematically by all means to repel emigrants,” the pope said during a weekly general audience. “And this, when done conscientiously and responsibly, is a serious sin.”

Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.