Leaders of groups serving Latino Catholics report that life for community members has changed drastically due to increased immigration enforcement. Increased enforcement has caused constant fear and anxiety within Latino communities, leading families to shelter at home, keeping children out of school and parents out of work. An organization leader shared personal accounts of hardship, including an uncle detained and located a month later in a different state, and a mother now raising an autistic daughter alone after her husband was detained. Despite pain and uncertainty, the community is demonstrating resilience, faith, and courage by supporting one another and choosing to live in hope.
10 days ago
Leaders from Latino Catholic organizations describe a drastic shift in daily life due to intensified immigration enforcement under the Trump administration's expanded ICE operations.1 2 Families are living in constant fear, not of wrongdoing, but of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, leading to widespread sheltering in homes.1 2 Children are missing school, and parents are avoiding work to evade potential detentions.1 2
Roxana Rueda Moreno of Chicago's Iskali shared her uncle's detention in October, which took a month to locate across state lines.1 2 She recounted a mother now solely raising a daughter with severe autism after her husband's detention, and a man killed in a September altercation with federal officers.1 2 These stories highlight pain, uncertainty, yet also resilience, faith, and community support as families hold onto hope.1 2
Paula Fitzgerald, executive director of Ayuda in Washington, D.C., noted increased difficulties in providing legal, social, and language services to low-income immigrants.1 2 Organizations face queries from schools and places of worship seeking protection, but prior safeguards have eroded.1 2 ICE arrests near courthouses and in unsuitable facilities complicate access to hearings and support.1 2
Many immigrants served by Ayuda are crime victims, including those facing domestic violence and human trafficking.1 2 Fear of reporting incidents to police has reached new heights, as individuals weigh risks from abusers against potential ICE handover.1 2 This deterioration of trust leaves vulnerable people in precarious positions.1 2
In early 2025, the administration rescinded policies designating schools, hospitals, and places of worship as protected from ICE enforcement.1 2 Agents can now operate at or near these sensitive locations, heightening community vulnerability.1 2 U.S. bishops issued a November message expressing concerns over enforcement, immigrant profiling, detention conditions, and arbitrary status losses.1 2
The December 4, 2025, Georgetown University event "Making Life Unbearable: The Impacts of Immigration Enforcement on Families and Communities" drew over 1,300 online registrants and 50 in-person attendees.1 2 Speakers included Rosa Reyes of the Dream Partnership and deported theologian Yolanda Chávez, emphasizing collective action.1 2 Fitzgerald praised Catholic leadership's solidarity and called for interfaith and community unity to advocate for change.1 2
Investigate Catholic teachings on social justice amid immigration enforcement
Catholic teachings on social justice emphasize the inherent dignity of every human person, created in the image and likeness of God, as the cornerstone for addressing immigration and enforcement. This dignity demands that societies respond to migrants not as threats or commodities, but as brothers and sisters deserving of welcome, protection, and integration. Amid immigration enforcement, the Church calls for policies that uphold this dignity while respecting the rule of law, balancing compassion with security. Key principles include solidarity, the preferential option for the poor, and the common good, which guide responses to migration driven by poverty, persecution, violence, and environmental degradation. These teachings, drawn from papal encyclicals and episcopal statements, urge comprehensive reforms that humanize enforcement and address root causes, ensuring justice serves the vulnerable without compromising societal order.
At the heart of Catholic social justice is the recognition that no one should be excluded from opportunities for a dignified life based on birthplace or borders. Pope Francis articulates this in Fratelli Tutti, stating that "the limits and borders of individual states cannot stand in the way" of equal rights and opportunities for all, as it is unacceptable for one's origin to result in fewer chances for development. This principle echoes earlier teachings, such as Pope John XXIII's Pacem in Terris, which commends efforts rooted in human solidarity and Christian charity to relieve the distress of emigrants forced from their homelands.
Solidarity extends to viewing migrants as part of the one human family, regardless of legal status. The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) in Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship invokes the Gospel mandate to "welcome the stranger," requiring Catholics to stand with newcomers—authorized or unauthorized—including refugees, asylum-seekers, and victims of trafficking. This solidarity is not optional but a moral imperative, as Pope Benedict XVI notes in Caritas in Veritate, describing migration as an "epoch-making" phenomenon that demands international cooperation to safeguard migrants' inalienable rights, treating them as persons rather than mere labor. Pope John Paul II reinforces this in Ecclesia in Europa, calling the Church to foster a "culture of acceptance" amid growing immigration, urging efforts to promote just economic orders that reduce the poverty driving migration.
In practice, this means enforcement must prioritize family unity and basic needs. Pope Francis outlines concrete steps in Fratelli Tutti, such as simplifying visas, opening humanitarian corridors, providing housing, education, and employment opportunities, and supporting family reunification to integrate migrants while preserving cultural identities. Historical papal addresses, like Pius XII's 1946 speech to U.S. officials, highlight America's tradition of welcoming immigrants as a strength, not a burden, while cautioning that restrictions must be guided by Christian charity and human solidarity.
While affirming nations' rights to control borders and enforce laws, Catholic teaching insists these must be exercised justly and humanely, without equating immigration status with criminality. The USCCB stresses that "the right and responsibility of nations to control their borders and to maintain the rule of law should be recognized but pursued in a just and humane manner," opposing detention for deterrence and favoring community-based alternatives. Pope Francis's 2025 letter to U.S. bishops critiques mass deportation programs that damage human dignity, particularly for those fleeing poverty or violence, while acknowledging a nation's duty to protect against serious criminals. He emphasizes that true rule of law is verified in the dignified treatment of the marginalized, promoting the common good through welcome and integration rather than force.
This balance is evident in Fratelli Tutti, where Pope Francis warns against a "loss of responsibility for our brothers and sisters," urging Europe and others to leverage their heritage to protect citizens' rights alongside migrants' needs. Pope John Paul II, in addresses to French bishops and during visits to Italy, calls for fraternal acceptance of immigrants, recalling Christ's identification with the stranger (Mt 25:35-40) and insisting on their inalienable rights to family life, security, and non-discrimination. In Ecclesia in America, he advocates vigilant defense of migrants' natural right to move freely, even in non-legal cases, through pastoral strategies that encourage welcoming attitudes and cooperation between dioceses.
Enforcement, therefore, should address root causes like underdevelopment and conflict, as Pope John XXIII envisioned in Ad Petri Cathedram, praising international programs that ease emigration and reunite families while providing for religious, moral, and economic needs. The USCCB's advocacy for funding community case management—achieving 96-100% compliance rates—illustrates how humane alternatives to detention can uphold justice without punitive measures.
Catholic teachings advocate systemic change over piecemeal enforcement, calling for comprehensive immigration reform that integrates social justice. The USCCB outlines this in Forming Consciences for Faithful Citizenship, urging a "broad and fair legalization program with a path to citizenship," worker protections, family reunification, due process, refuge for the persecuted, and policies tackling migration's roots. Pope Benedict XVI in Caritas in Veritate calls for bold international policies coordinating norms to protect migrants and host countries alike, recognizing their economic contributions while rejecting exploitation.
Pope John Paul II's Ecclesia in Europa and Ecclesia in America emphasize the Church's role in evangelizing and integrating immigrants, viewing their arrival as an opportunity for mutual enrichment and a call to evangelical fraternity. Recent USCCB letters push for expanded citizenship services, timely processing, and NGO-led alternatives to detention, ensuring enforcement serves the common good without nonadjudicatory burdens. Pope Francis's framework of "welcome, protect, promote, and integrate" in Fratelli Tutti provides a roadmap for building societies open to differences in the spirit of human fraternity.
Controversies arise in balancing security and compassion, but teachings prioritize the vulnerable. Where sources like the 2025 letter address modern crises such as mass deportations, they take precedence, clarifying that policies built on force rather than equal dignity "begin badly and will end badly." Earlier documents, while affirming borders, consistently subordinate them to charity, as in Pius XII's reminder of immigration's historical benefits to nations.
Catholic social justice amid immigration enforcement demands a holistic approach rooted in human dignity, solidarity, and the common good. By welcoming migrants as Christ commands, enforcing laws humanely, and pursuing reforms that address inequalities, societies can embody fraternity. These teachings challenge nations to move beyond fear toward creative policies that protect all, ensuring the vulnerable are not sacrificed for the privileged. Ultimately, as Pope Francis teaches, true justice verifies itself in how we treat the poorest, fostering a world where borders serve humanity rather than divide it.