Catholic Bishops have found themselves ethically and legally opposed to the Trump administration’s immigration policy. With intense and massive deportation efforts, U.S. Bishops have sued the Trump administration for the unlawful treatment and actions against immigrants.
Migration and Refugee Services have made drastic layoffs and aid cuts, resulting in hardships for Catholic charities that have long-held ties with the White House. Catholic organizations typically receive significant amounts of money through the federal government, although federal grants and contracts will now be hard to attain.
On Jan. 24, the State Department announced the immediate suspension of virtually all aid programs contingent on U.S. funding, resulting in a 90-day suspension of foreign assistance.
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) criticized the executive actions and strongly urged the government to reconsider its decision.
Archbishop Timothy Broglio, president of the USCCB, relayed the Catholic Churches’ sentiments about aiding the most vulnerable.
“The Catholic Church always works to uphold the common good of all and promote the dignity of the human person, especially the most vulnerable among us. That includes the unborn, the poor, the stranger, the elderly and infirm, and migrants,” Broglio said.
The USCCB claims that their efforts in aiding immigrants do not fall under foreign aid, but rather domestic aid, as explained in their lawsuit. The USCCB asserts that amid the 90-day resettlement period, insurmountable numbers of refugees should have resettlement aid but were denied.
Federal Judge Trevor McFadden, a 2017 Trump appointee, rejected the pleas of the bishops to restore funding through a temporary restraining order.
“A temporary restraining order is an extraordinary remedy that should be granted sparingly,” McFadden said.
Furthermore, McFadden refused to block Trump’s instant stop in funding the nation’s largest private refugee resettlement program, raising concerns from the USCCB about whether these actions of the president are permissible or not.
Pope Francis echoed this criticism. Francis frequently stresses the biblical command “welcome the stranger” and strongly urges countries to welcome and help immigrants fleeing from conflict-ridden areas.
In a letter to U.S. Bishops, Francis shed light on this conflict. He also alluded to his disagreement with JD Vance’s use of Catholic thought to justify his anti-immigrant rhetoric.
Francis had frequently rejected Trump during his 2016 campaign — claiming that anyone who would build a wall to keep out migrants was “not Christian.”
Vance, who bolstered massive support from his Catholic conversion has frequently stressed his belief in the Catholic theology ordo amoris, saying, “the order of affections, is the order of priorities we have: what is most important and what is least important.”
According to Vance, this leads to a hierarchy of family first, followed by neighbor, community, fellow citizens and lastly those elsewhere. This hierarchy means there is a hierarchy of moral obligations, which Vance has used to amplify support for his immigration policies.
The sentiments of Francis and Catholic Bishops, as well as those against these policies, were echoed by Rt. Reverend Mariann Edgar Budde.
During a prayer at the Washington National Cathedral, Budde pleaded with Trump, who was in attendance. She highlighted the values mentioned by the Catholic bishops of helping the vulnerable.
“Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands, to find compassion and welcome here,” Budde said.
