(RNS) — After immigration enforcement officials shot several people and killed two U.S. citizens, U.S. Catholic bishops have used increasingly urgent language in opposing the Trump administration’s immigration policies in recent days.
Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, called on U.S. members of Congress to oppose a funding bill that includes money for the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
“We ask — for the love of God and the love of human beings, which can’t be separated — vote against renewing funding for such a lawless organization,” Tobin said in a webinar hosted by Faith in Action on Sunday (Jan. 25).
Tobin also used stark language to describe immigration enforcement actions, saying, “We mourn for our world, for our country, that allows 5-year-olds to be legally kidnapped and protesters to be slaughtered.”
One of the three senior clerics currently leading U.S. archdioceses, the cardinal called on webinar attendees to contact their congressional representatives: “How will you say no, in this week, when an appropriations bill is going to be considered in Congress?” he asked.
Several other Catholic organizations and leaders have mobilized supporters to contact Congress and urge them to vote against DHS funding, with some citing Tobin’s comments.
Cardinal Joseph Tobin attends a Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, April 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino, File)
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor of Little Rock, Arkansas, penned an op-ed in his diocesan newspaper on Monday, warning against the “dehumanization of mass, indiscriminate deportation,” drawing on his …