Vice President JD Vance, a practicing Catholic, criticized his church's U.S. bishops for not having been "a good partner in commonsense immigration enforcement" and for worrying more "about their bottom line" than humanitarian concerns.
President Donald Trump's Department of Homeland Security last week issued a directive rescinding the Biden administration's 2021 guidelines for Immigrations and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection regarding "sensitive" areas, which include such places as schools, hospitals, and churches.
"Criminals will no longer be able to hide in America's schools and churches to avoid arrest. The Trump Administration will not tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense," read a statement attributed to a DHS spokesperson.
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops responded Thursday by condemning some of Trump's policies and saying, "Non-emergency immigration enforcement in schools, places of worship, social service agencies, healthcare facilities, or other sensitive settings where people receive essential services would be contrary to the common good."
A day earlier, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, the USCCB president, issued a statement that some provisions of Trump's executive actions "are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences."
During an appearance Sunday on CBS News' "Face the Nation," Vance was asked about the bishops' statement.
"As a practicing Catholic, I was actually heartbroken by that statement," Vance said. "And I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants. Are they worried about humanitarian concerns, or are they actually worried about their bottom line?
"We're going to enforce immigration law. We're going to protect the American people."
Vance added that the dangers were great.
"I believe the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, if they're worried about the humanitarian costs of immigration enforcement, let them talk about the children who have been sex-trafficked because of the wide-open border of [former President] Joe Biden," he said.
Host Margaret Brennan asked the vice president whether he thought the U.S. Conference of Catholics Bishops is actively hiding criminals from law enforcement.
"I think the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has, frankly, not been a good partner in common-sense immigration enforcement that the American people voted for," Vance said.
"And I hope, again, as a devout Catholic, that they'll do better."
Pope Francis said Trump's plans to deport illegal migrants from the U.S. would be a "disgrace" if they materialized, BBC reported early last week.
Speaking to an Italian TV program, Francis said that if the plans went ahead, Trump would make "poor wretches that don't have anything foot the bill."
"That's not right. That's not how you solve problems," he said.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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