The U.S. bishops are taking a wait-and-see approach to what President-elect Donald Trump does with his campaign promise to carry out mass deportation of immigrants who are in the country illegally. But the bishops say they are prepared to speak out forcefully if Trump does advance the controversial proposal in a way that undermines human dignity.
That was the message delivered by leadership of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on the first public day of their fall assembly, held in Baltimore on Nov. 12, one week after Election Day. ”We are waiting to see just what exactly takes shape,” said Bishop Mark Seitz, head of the USCCB migration committee, who spoke to members of the media alongside USCCB president Archbishop Timothy Broglio and Bishop Michael Burbidge, chairman of the USCCB’s pro-life committee. If the Trump administration moves forward in a way that violates basic human rights, Seitz said the bishops are prepared to “raise our voice loudly.”
Seitz, the bishop of the Diocese of El Paso, has pushed back against the Texas state government’s attempt to restrict Catholic ministry to migrants in his diocese. He said that the bishops were “concerned” about Trump’s immigration rhetoric on the campaign trail but that they “don’t want to get ahead” of the administration before it announces its concrete plans.
“We know that very often the reality is different from the rhetoric,” he said. “We’ll watch and respond as needed.”