Catholic theologian takes job in Trump’s Department of Homeland Security
Chad Pecknold, a professor at the Catholic University of America, has been named principal director of public outreach for the Department of Homeland Security’s Office of Public Engagement. He has previously defended Trump administration immigration policies on theological grounds and expressed excitement about serving his country in the new role. His appointment comes amid ongoing clashes between U.S. bishops and the Trump administration over immigration enforcement, including the bishops’ recent opposition to mass deportations. Pecknold argues that protecting national borders is consistent with Catholic teaching, asserting that nations have a right to borders and citizenship is not automatically granted to those who enter illegally.
12 days ago
Chad Pecknold, a Catholic theologian and longtime professor at The Catholic University of America, has taken a public-service position in the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), where he will serve as principal director of public outreach in the Office of Public Engagement. His appointment comes as Catholic bishops and the Trump administration remain divided over immigration enforcement. 1
Pecknold began the DHS position in August and is on leave from Catholic University, where he has taught theology since 2008. His LinkedIn profile describes the work as involving “cultural outreach.” 1
In a statement, Pecknold said he was excited to take the job and called it an honor to serve the United States. DHS did not provide further details about his responsibilities, and Pecknold did not provide an interview, leaving the precise scope of the position unclear. 1
DHS oversees federal immigration-related agencies including Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. It is also responsible for protecting the country against terrorist attacks and other security threats. 1
Pecknold has publicly argued that Catholic teaching supports a nation’s right to maintain borders and define its citizenship policies. He has said that people fleeing danger are owed care, but that crossing a border or seeking asylum does not automatically create a right to citizenship. 1
He has also criticized the U.S. bishops’ legal position supporting birthright citizenship for children of undocumented migrants. Pecknold argued that the bishops improperly conflated natural rights, which he associates with human dignity and divine origin, with conventional rights governing eligibility for national citizenship. 1
Pecknold endorsed a statement from a Hungarian Christian think tank asserting that mass deportations can be a legitimate response to mass migration. In 2024, he invoked St. Thomas Aquinas to distinguish hospitality toward travelers from permanent resettlement and said governments may restrict who can legally enter and remain in a country. 1
Pecknold’s appointment comes while the Trump administration is pursuing stricter immigration policies, including border enforcement, a mass-deportation campaign, and tighter standards for legal immigration and asylum claims. 1
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a joint statement in November 2025 opposing what it called the indiscriminate mass deportation of people and condemning dehumanizing rhetoric and violence involving immigrants and law enforcement. 1
Pope Leo XIV subsequently urged U.S. officials and others involved in immigration enforcement to treat migrants humanely and with dignity while following legal procedures. 1
Pecknold is associated with the postliberal movement, which emphasizes the common good and argues that American politics has placed too much weight on individual liberty. He co-founded the Postliberal Order publication with political scientist Patrick Deneen and legal scholar Adrian Vermeule. 1
He is also described as being close to Vice President JD Vance, a Catholic convert who identifies with postliberal ideas. Pecknold’s books examine political and cultural questions through the theology and philosophy of St. Augustine. 1
In a 2023 discussion, Pecknold said Catholics have a duty to participate in public life by praying, working for the country’s peace, and helping to govern. His new DHS position places him in a federal agency directly involved in the immigration policies he has defended on theological and political grounds. 1*
How does Catholic doctrine justify national borders and immigration enforcement?
Catholic doctrine recognizes both the legitimacy of national borders and the universal dignity of every human person. Borders may be enforced for the common good, but they are not morally absolute, and enforcement must remain just, humane, and proportionate.
Political authorities are responsible for the common good: public order, security, economic stability, and the protection of citizens. The Catechism therefore teaches that governments may subject immigration to “various juridical conditions,” and immigrants must obey the laws and contribute to civic life.
The Church consequently recognizes a nation’s right and responsibility to control its borders and maintain the rule of law. This can include visa systems, admissibility requirements, removal procedures, and measures against trafficking, violence, or serious threats to public safety.
But the nation-state is not an absolute moral authority. Pope Francis describes it as unable, by itself, to secure the entire common good in an interconnected world; national responsibilities must therefore be exercised alongside international cooperation and solidarity.
Every migrant remains a human person with equal dignity and fundamental rights. John XXIII taught that a person’s citizenship in one country does not remove his membership in the universal human family, and he recognized a right to emigrate for serious reasons.
The Catechism also states that prosperous nations should welcome foreigners seeking security or a livelihood unavailable in their homeland, insofar as those nations are able. This is not usually interpreted as an unlimited individual right to enter any chosen country, but it does impose duties of hospitality and assistance—especially on wealthier nations.
The strongest obligations arise for refugees and asylum seekers. Those fleeing persecution, grave danger, or forced displacement may have a right to seek protection even through irregular means when ordinary legal channels are unavailable. Their claims must therefore be examined fairly rather than automatically treated as ordinary unlawful entry.
Catholic teaching supports enforcement only when it respects:
John Paul II summarizes the balance by affirming both public authorities’ responsibility to control migration and the need for hospitality, respect for rights, and suppression of genuine abuses.
Thus, Catholic doctrine rejects two extremes: borderless individualism, which denies a state’s legitimate responsibility for the common good, and nationalism, which treats outsiders as lacking equal human dignity. Borders may regulate entry, but they cannot erase duties of justice, mercy, asylum, solidarity, and respect for the human person.