Enforcing our immigration laws

What the pope said

By Josh Mercer, CatholicVote vice president  It’s not surprising that the pope chose to intervene in American politics. The pope is a fierce advocate for radically permissive immigration laws. Further (and not surprisingly), the pope also does not like Donald Trump – and has repeatedly publicly attacked him both as a candidate and as president. It’s notable, for example, that the term “major crisis” – or anything of the sort – was never used to critique Joe Biden’s radical abortion and trans extremism.  But the pope is the pope.  He is the Holy Father, the Vicar of Christ on Earth. Catholics owe him respect, even when his words frustrate us. Progressive Catholics publicly disagreed with St. John Paul II and Pope Benedict, often on topics where Church teaching is not open to debate. Many Catholics today find certain comments by Pope Francis confusing and frustrating.  The point is not “do you support the pope or not,” but whether a healthy dialogue is possible, particularly on difficult questions where the moral theology of the Church allows people of good will and conscience to disagree. So what did the pope say?  The pope’s letter acknowledges the “right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes.” But his main focus was a critique of “mass deportations" and “any measure that…identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality.”  In sum, the Holy Father did not condemn the deportation of dangerous criminals. But he also called on the United States to pursue the “common good” with “creativity and strict respect for the rights of all” by opposing the deportation of those who have broken our immigration laws.  We understand that the pope does not speak authoritatively on every last thing. We are not bound to agree with his favorite color or food, for example. In some cases, the pope can and has spoken “ex cathedra” or infallibly.  In the case of immigration policy we owe the Holy Father the submission of our mind and will when it comes to his primary argument involving the timeless teachings of the Church. That is, we are bound to uphold the infinite and transcendent dignity of every person, and public policies must be judged in light of this fundamental principle.  But we also understand that applying the timeless teachings of our Church to contingent circumstances requires prudence, and often involves the unique competencies of lay people – including elected public officials.  The pope himself has encouraged the laity to take up this responsibility – repeatedly. His promptings to “make a mess” and to participate in the “Synodal Way” have encouraged the input and participation of the faithful in the discernment of the Church – and appropriately so when it comes to prudential public policy solutions.  CatholicVote will always be Catholic first. We love the Holy Father, even though his interventions often seem odd, frustrating, and at times, misguided.  So here’s some questions and our take:

 

The pope seems to suggest that basic U.S. laws and rules governing immigration are both unjust and immoral. How does he square this with the clear teaching of the Catechism that nations have a right to subject immigration to laws and regulations – and that those seeking to migrate are bound to obey these laws? Specifically, is every deportation of someone that has not committed a violent crime now deemed immoral? This strikes us as reckless and nonsensical. If the transcendent dignity of every human being must be respected, what about those harmed by unregulated mass migration? What about those communities upended, including citizens whose wages and jobs have been impacted, not to mention the catastrophic consequences such a policy encourages, including illegal drugs, human and sex-trafficking, and more. Does their dignity matter? What about the impact of encouraging mass migration without restriction on migrants themselves – including those raped, trafficked and exploited by coyotes and cartels? According to reports, when Joe Biden took office, Mexican cartels carried out approximately $800 million in drugs and human trafficking. When he left office, the cartels did nearly $13 billion in “business.” $13 BILLION. The pope and many of our bishops are strangely silent on the responsibilities of the nations that migrants are fleeing. Do these nations also bear any responsibility to the vulnerable populations that are fleeing socialist and corrupt regimes? Notably absent from the Holy Father’s harsh critique of the United States is how we got here – namely, the reckless and irresponsible failure of President Biden to enforce our laws at the border, and the implicit (and sometimes subsidized) encouragement of mass migration into the United States from nearly every country in the world. Joe Biden created a mess, and now Donald Trump and JD Vance are the problem? Are blacks, Hispanics, and a majority of Catholic voters in the United States, not to mention growing majorities in countries in Europe that object to unregulated mass migration, simply xenophobic hateful bigots?

 

The fact is that mass migration is part of a globalist, progressive project to remake the world. People have migrated to better places since the beginning of time. But what is happening today is unprecedented.  Entire nations are now at risk of being destabilized, transformed, and overrun with new populations that do not share their values, traditions, language, and culture.  Ask yourself who is benefitting from this push?  Is mass, largely unregulated, migration truly what’s best for migrants themselves – and the communities they occupy?  When communities are destabilized and inevitable civic unrest, violence, and even war comes, who will be to blame?  When Barack Obama deported more than 2 million immigrants in his first term (and a few million more in his second term) – including many who had simply broken our immigration laws – did the pope issue a “major crisis” letter? No.  When the pope spoke at the White House in 2014, he focused on climate change.   There is more (much more) that can be said.  I fear those closest to the pope have failed to give him the full picture, including of the situation in the United States.   Let’s not forget: Trump inherited a full-fledged humanitarian crisis when he took office. To repeat just a few of the numbers: 300,000 migrant children have gone missing. 68% of migrants reported being victims of violence during their trek to the United States, including one-third of women who said they were sexually abused.   In the United States, gangs like Tren de Aragua took over entire apartment complexes. Americans and migrants alike have lost their lives.  Remember Laken Riley?  CatholicVote has never argued that the United States should turn a blind eye to the plight of the vulnerable and the legitimate plight of those seeking a better life.  Many Catholics immigrated to the United States – legally and willingly subjecting themselves to the laws of the country that welcomed us.  We take seriously the moral promptings of the Holy Father.   But in this case, his intervention raises more questions than answers.  We need more voices – including more U.S. Bishops – to help Catholics think with the Church on this issue.  As a lay organization, we continue to support the enforcement of U.S. law – now focused on deporting the “worst first.”  At least on that, the Holy Father agrees.  I hope.