El Paso bishop calls Trump immigration orders ‘contrary to the moral law’

Bishop Mark Seitz of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, speaks at the “Responding to Changing Realities at the U.S. Border and Beyond” conference hosted by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops and The Catholic University of America. / Credit: Photo courtesy of The Catholic University of America

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Jan 23, 2025 / 12:40 pm (CNA).

The chairman of the U.S. bishops’ committee on migration sharply criticized President Donald Trump’s executive orders on immigration that he signed earlier this week, expressing particular concern for vulnerable families and children. 

“Church teaching recognizes a country’s right and responsibility to promote public order, safety, and security through well-regulated borders and just limits on immigration,” wrote Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas.

“However, as shepherds, we cannot abide injustice, and we stress that national self-interest does not justify policies with consequences that are contrary to the moral law,” the statement reads.

Trump upon taking office on Monday signed a series of executive orders that included tough restrictions on immigration.

The president shortly after his inauguration on Monday signed orders suspending asylum for refugees, declaring a national emergency at the southern border, reinstating the “Remain in Mexico” policy from his previous term, designating drug cartels as “foreign terrorist organizations,” and ending birthright citizenship.

Seitz’s reaction to the orders follows a statement from USCCB President Archbishop Timothy Broglio on Wednesday that criticized Trump’s executive orders on immigration and other issues such as capital punishment, warning that harm could be done to “the most vulnerable among us.” 

The El Paso bishop continued in his statement, speaking out against the use of “sweeping generalizations to denigrate any group, such as describing all undocumented immigrants as ‘criminals’ or ‘invaders’ to deprive them of protection under the law.” Doing so, he wrote, “is an affront to God, who has created each of us in his own image.”

In his inauguration speech, Trump said he would invoke the Alien Enemies Act of 1798 — most recently used to intern Japanese Americans during World War II — to remove any gang members, drug dealers, or cartel members who are in the U.S. illegally.

Seitz welcomed “an emphasis on anti-trafficking” but condemned several of the executive orders by Trump that he described as “specifically intended to eviscerate humanitarian protections enshrined in federal law” for vulnerable families and children. He also censured the deployment of military assets to enforce Trump’s initiatives at the southern border, which he called “especially concerning.” 

Denying migrants access to asylum and other protections, the bishop said, would endanger vulnerable refugee seekers “while empowering gangs and other predators to exploit them.” 

“We urge President Trump to pivot from these enforcement-only policies to just and merciful solutions, working in good faith with members of Congress to achieve meaningful, bipartisan immigration reform that furthers the common good with an effective, orderly immigration system,” Seitz wrote, concluding: “My brother bishops and I will support this in any way we can while continuing to accompany our immigrant brothers and sisters in accordance with the gospel of life.”