In exchange with religious sister, Vance says government tries to strike ‘balance’ on immigration
At an Oct. 17 CBS town hall, Sister Nancy Sylvester asked Vice President JD Vance how immigration enforcement can align with Catholic values, citing family separations she said sisters see at the southern border. Vance said the government seeks to balance immigration law enforcement with humane treatment, citing the scale of illegal immigration and concerns about criminal activity. Vance acknowledged that federal agents sometimes make mistakes and said allegations should be addressed through investigations and court processes. Sylvester belongs to the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, a religious order headquartered in Monroe, Michigan.
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Vice President JD Vance said the administration is trying to balance immigration enforcement with humane treatment during an Oct. 17 CBS town hall, after a Catholic sister raised concerns about families affected by immigration policies and ICE conduct. Vance acknowledged that federal agents sometimes make serious mistakes, while defending enforcement as necessary to address illegal immigration and associated criminal activity. 1 2
Sister Nancy Sylvester, of the Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary, told Vance that sisters serving at the southern border regularly encounter families affected by immigration policies, including separations involving young children. She asked how the conduct of ICE personnel could be justified in light of the values people of faith seek to live by. 1 2
Vance told Sylvester he would pray for her and said the government was trying to strike “the right balance” between enforcing immigration law and treating people humanely. He argued that too little enforcement could empower dangerous people. 1 2
Vance cited an estimate of approximately 25 million people entering the country illegally over the past 30 years, saying many were unchecked or unvetted. He described the policy challenge as a “work in progress,” involving millions of people in the country illegally and hundreds of thousands of law-enforcement officers. 1 2
He acknowledged that federal agents make mistakes and sometimes “really screw up,” adding that the government does not always publicize disciplinary processes. He said people should be judged through courts and ordinary investigative procedures. 1 2
Vance also pointed to drug trafficking and sex slavery as criminal activity that can accompany illegal immigration, and said the administration seeks to pair enforcement with humane treatment. 1 2
The Sisters, Servants of the Immaculate Heart of Mary are headquartered in Monroe, Michigan, and their ministries include hospitals, education, and long-term care. The order was founded by Mother Theresa Maxis Duchemin, whom the article identifies as the first U.S.-born Black woman to become a religious sister. 1 2
Immigration enforcement must balance public order with migrant dignity
Catholic teaching supports both the legitimate authority of governments to regulate immigration and the duty to treat every migrant with dignity. These are not opposing principles: public order should be pursued through just, lawful, and proportionate enforcement, not by denying migrants’ humanity or basic rights.
“This does not impede the development of a policy that regulates orderly and legal migration.”
Pope Francis’s point is that protecting human dignity does not require abandoning immigration rules. But the rules must respect the equal dignity of all people, particularly those who are poor or vulnerable; a policy cannot justly pursue some people’s interests by imposing the costs on others.
This leaves room for enforcement against abuses and for controlling migration in view of the common good. St. John Paul II likewise teaches that public authorities have this responsibility and that respect for law can require firm action against abuses. But he places that responsibility alongside the obligation to recognize immigrants’ equal dignity and fundamental rights.
In practice, Catholic principles call for enforcement that includes individual assessment, due process, and humane treatment. The Holy See has stressed that returns should be safe and dignified, follow an individual assessment, and allow applicable legal remedies to be exhausted. When children are involved, their best interests and family unity must be considered; the Holy See has also called for child immigration detention to end.
A balanced approach also considers whether people can navigate immigration proceedings without unnecessary detention. The U.S. bishops have supported community-based alternatives, including case management, as a way to help people comply with proceedings while remaining with their families and in their communities.
So the Catholic standard is neither “no enforcement” nor “enforcement at any cost.” It is order governed by justice: laws may regulate entry and residence, but enforcement should not rely on indiscriminate treatment, disregard for due process, or avoidable harm to families and vulnerable people. The available principles do not settle every policy question or dictate one enforcement model; they do establish that public order cannot be separated from respect for human dignity.