Tom Homan, the Trump administration’s border czar, responded to the nation’s bishops this week after they issued a statement in solidarity with migrant families who they said live in fear of “indiscriminate mass deportation.”
The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) approved the statement by a vote of 216–5 at its Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore, Maryland. The bishops warned against rhetoric that “vilifies immigrants” and cited reports of parents avoiding school drop-offs, parishioners skipping Mass, and families remaining indoors because they fear detention.
“So according to them,” Homan said when a reporter asked about the bishops’ statement, “the message to the world is: if you cross the border illegally, which is a crime, don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about it because we shouldn’t have mass deportations.”
“I’m saying it not only as the Border Czar, I’ll say it as a Catholic, I think they need to spend time fixing the Catholic Church.”
In their Special Pastoral Message, the first such message in more than a decade, the bishops said they are witnessing “a climate of fear and anxiety” in immigrant communities. While affirming that nations have the right to regulate their borders, the bishops urged policymakers to protect due process, family unity, and access to worship.
“We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people,” the message stated.
In a separate letter to Pope Leo, the bishops said that some migrants now avoid attending church altogether because they fear being questioned or detained. They pledged to continue advocating for “secure and orderly borders” balanced with protections for vulnerable families.
“We support secure and orderly borders and law enforcement actions in response to dangerous criminal activity, but we cannot remain silent in this challenging hour while the right to worship and the right to due process are undermined,” the letter stated.
Homan, a Catholic, countered the bishops’ concerns by arguing that the administration’s strict enforcement policies prevent deaths along the border and curb cartel operations. He pointed to fentanyl overdoses, smuggling networks, and the risks migrants face when entering the country without authorization.
“Secure borders save lives,” Homan said. “I wish the Catholic Church would understand that.”
Homan went on to argue that religious institutions enforce strict limits on access to their properties and that governments should be able to do the same at their borders. “You can’t enter your facility without getting arrested… the penalty for entering your facility is much worse than ours,” he said.
The exchange comes amid widening divisions within the Catholic Church over the Trump administration’s border enforcement policies.
CatholicVote released a new report this week meant to serve as a guide to Catholics who wish to apply Catholic social teaching to the issue. The document argues that strong immigration enforcement can align with Church teaching, and that both justice and concern for the vulnerable on both sides of the Southern border should play a role in forming policy.
Readers can find CatholicVote’s full report here.
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