US bishops call for accountability after two migrants die in ICE operations
Two USCCB committee chairmen have issued a pastoral reflection urging authorities to act with accountability, transparency and justice. It follows the deaths of a Colombian man in Maine and a Mexican man in Texas during immigration enforcement operations
The bishops of the United States have called on authorities to act with responsibility, transparency and justice in immigration proceedings, in response to enforcement operations they said have harmed the dignity of individuals and communities. Their reflection follows incidents that have created fear and anxiety among the public, particularly over racial discrimination and the enforcement of immigration law.
The bishops' concern grew after two Latin American citizens died during operations by US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero, a Colombian citizen, was shot and killed by ICE agents in Maine. Lorenzo Salgado Araujo, a Mexican citizen, died in a similar operation in Texas.
Bishop Daniel E. García, chairman of the Subcommittee for the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation, and Bishop Brendan J. Cahill, chairman of the Committee on Migration of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), published a pastoral reflection saying that every human life has inviolable dignity. "As Catholics, we believe that all people have been created in the image and likeness of God, and therefore we lament all situations in which human life comes to an unnatural end," the bishops wrote.
Human dignity is a foundational principle of the Christian faith and a truth the Church is called to proclaim constantly, they said. Racial discrimination not only offends the dignity God gives each person but also does deep harm to individuals, families and communities, feeding fear and weakening trust, they wrote.
The Church's pastoral mission goes beyond the limits of civil law, the bishops said, and violence in immigration operations "disregards or ignores the dignity of any person or group of persons." They said the dehumanization of immigrants must not become normal in society, whatever a person's immigration status.
The bishops said civil authorities have both the right and the duty to enforce the law. But they insisted that this responsibility be carried out with humanity and respect for fundamental rights, especially the right to life and due process. "The power of the state must always be exercised within the limits of the moral law," they wrote.
The bishops demanded "responsibility, transparency and justice" from authorities, saying this requires major reforms to the immigration system. They offered their spiritual closeness to the families of the two men and said they are praying for those who have lost their lives. They prayed that dehumanizing rhetoric would cease, that racial prejudice and every form of violence would end, and that society would renew its commitment to recognizing and protecting the inherent dignity of each person as a child of God.
