The head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops on Sunday warned of “widespread” fear among immigrant communities in response to President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies and emphasized the need to uphold human dignity in immigration enforcement.
Archbishop Paul Coakley, newly elected president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), said during a CBS interview that federal immigration crackdowns are generating what he called “fear in a rather widespread manner” within immigrant communities. While recognizing the government’s duty to regulate migration and uphold border security, Coakley underscored what he described as the Church’s position that such policies must not undermine human dignity or moral principles.
“It’s something that concerns us all,” Coakley noted. “People have a right to live in security and without fear of random deportations.” He added that while nations have the right to control their borders, the Church continues to underscore that “we always have to treat people with dignity, God-given dignity. The state doesn’t award it, and the state can’t take it away.”
Coakley’s comments reflect the tensions within Catholic teaching on immigration. The bishops have simultaneously upheld the right of governments to enforce immigration laws and expressed unease over the human impact of how those laws are implemented. In November, the USCCB adopted a formal statement supporting the idea that countries have a responsibility to maintain a “just and orderly immigration system for the sake of the common good,” a principle endorsed by Pope Leo XIV. That statement highlighted the importance of border controls as a protection against trafficking and exploitation.
Despite this recognition of national sovereignty, the bishops’ message also addressed the social and pastoral consequences of deportation campaigns. They acknowledged a growing climate of “fear and anxiety,” and were “saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants.” The statement outlined problems with conditions in detention centers and the challenges facing church leaders trying to offer pastoral care to detained migrants.
The recent election of Archbishop Paul Coakley, a conservative bishop, as president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops took place during ongoing debate within the Church over immigration policy. Coakley was elected alongside Bishop Daniel Flores of the Diocese of Brownsville, Texas, as vice president. Flores is known for being outspoken in defense of immigrants. Coakley, while aligned with the Church’s social conservative wing, has questioned aspects of Trump’s immigration enforcement policies. Earlier this year, he stated that the majority of undocumented immigrants in Oklahoma are “upstanding members of our communities and churches, not violent criminals.”
In his remarks Sunday, Coakley called on political leaders to “be generous in welcoming immigrants,” and stressed that policy should make space for those fleeing dangerous conditions. He pointed to the Church’s longstanding teaching that people have the right to remain in their homeland but also “ought to be allowed to migrate when conditions in their homeland are unsafe and necessitate moving to a place where they can find peace and security.”
Pope Leo XIV has publicly supported these principles while also affirming the rights of nations to regulate migration. “No one has said that the United States should have open borders,” he said during a recent press conference, and stated that “every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter.” The Pope also echoed the bishops’ appeal for humane treatment of migrants, particularly those who have lived and worked in the U.S. for many years.
The Pope expanded on this balance during a speech in Lebanon earlier this month, where he explained the Church “does not want anyone to be forced to leave their country,” but supports their right to do so when necessary. He urged leaders to consider how to reduce the pressures that compel emigration, asking, “How can we encourage them not to seek peace elsewhere, but to find guarantees of peace and become protagonists in their own native land?” He described remaining in one’s homeland as “something very valuable” and called it an act that “takes real courage and foresight.”
Still, public opinion among U.S. Catholics shows significant support for enforcement measures. A December poll conducted by EWTN News and RealClear Opinion Research between November 9 and 11 found that 54 percent of Catholic voters support “the detention and deportation of unauthorized immigrants on a broad scale,” while 30 percent oppose such policies. The survey preceded the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ November 13 statement on immigration and suggests many Catholic voters favor stricter immigration enforcement policies.
As immigration enforcement continues under Trump’s second term, Coakley reaffirmed that Church leaders would continue to advocate for policy rooted in moral clarity. “I don’t think we can ever say that the end justifies the means,” he said, insisting that respect for human dignity must remain the foundation of all immigration decisions.
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