The Trump administration has ramped up its immigration policies, spurred on by favorable rulings by the Supreme Court of the United States.
A recent decision by the Department of Homeland Security to terminate Temporary Protected Status (TPS) for Hondurans and Nicaraguans, which will go into effect on Sept. 8, is a profound injustice that demands a response rooted in the Gospel and Catholic social teaching.
The existing policy plans to strip deportation protections and work authorizations from approximately 72,000 Hondurans and 4,000 Nicaraguans who have built lives in the United States, many for over two decades since Hurricane Mitch devastated their homelands in 1998.
As Catholics, we are called to see in these individuals not mere statistics, but brothers and sisters created in the image of God, deserving both dignity and compassion from us.
The rationale — that conditions in Honduras and Nicaragua have sufficiently improved — behind the policy provided by DHS ignores the stark reality of ongoing crises in both nations.
Honduras remains one of the most violent countries in the world, with a 2023 homicide rate of 31 per 100,000 and the highest femicide rate in Latin America and the Caribbean. How will these newcomers be treated after returning decades later?
Nicaragua, under the oppressive regime of Daniel Ortega and Rosario Murillo, has seen a brutal crackdown on the Catholic Church, with clergy and laity harassed, imprisoned, and exiled, including Bishop Rolando Álvarez, now in Rome after being stripped of citizenship.
Catholic teaching, as articulated by the popes and the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, calls us to welcome the stranger (Matthew 25:35) and uphold the dignity of every person. The termination of TPS contradicts this mandate, sowing fear and powerlessness among vulnerable communities.
Other immigration enforcement raids recently have led to the bishop of San Bernardino, California, issuing a dispensation for migrants from the obligation of attending Sunday Mass if they fear for their well-being.
The Trump administration in January rescinded long-standing restrictions on arrests at sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools, and hospitals.
Bishop Alberto Rojas of San Bernardino previously denounced such immigration enforcement actions after ICE agents entered two Catholic parish properties in Montclair and Highland, detaining multiple people in the parking lot of St. Adelaide Church in Highland.
Most of these migrants are not criminals; they are families, workers, and faithful contributors to our society. While legitimate security concerns must be addressed, sweeping policies that ensnare the innocent in their wake lack the discernment and justice we are called to uphold.
A glimmer of hope was offered by President Donald Trump in a comment he made while signing the One Big Beautiful Bill in Iowa. He suggested that farmers could “vouch” for undocumented workers to prevent disruptions in agriculture, reflecting a pragmatic approach to deportations amid the broader context of his administration’s immigration policies.
This flexibility could be seen as an acknowledgment of the economic contributions of undocumented workers, particularly in sectors like agriculture, where labor shortages could harm productivity.
While this olive branch is rooted in economics and not a faith-based belief, it can be used to further the value of migrants to the American experience.