All eight Minnesota Catholic bishops released a joint statement Friday bashing former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies for causing a crisis in the U.S. that has negatively impacted countless communities.
The bishops stated their disapproval of President Donald Trump’s immigration directive allowing for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to detain illegal immigrants in places of worship, but acknowledged that the policy was only implemented due to the Biden administration’s “leadership failure” on the border, according to the letter. The Biden administration allowed for roughly 11 million border encounters from February 2021 through December 2024, an all-time high for the United States, and border officials seized nearly 27,000 pounds of fentanyl in 2023, also a record-high.
“Sadly, our nation’s immigration system is broken,” the bishops wrote. “As Pope Francis has said, migrants have been too often treated ‘as pawns on the chessboard of humanity.’ Elected officials in both major political parties have failed to rise above political calculation and collaborate on a solution rooted in respect for migrants and the common good of the nation. This leadership failure has resulted in repeated conflicts at the border and in our communities that have only grown worse.”
“The Biden Administration’s migration policies exacerbated these problems, and as a response, President Trump has resolved to instigate measures focused primarily on enforcement and deportations,” the statement continued.
While the bishops voiced concerns with Trump’s policy, they emphasized the need to “not overly burden local communities.”
“The fact that we advocate for comprehensive immigration reform and the just enforcement of laws against those already residing here is not simple-minded advocacy for ‘open borders,’” the letter stated. “We recognize that public officials have the responsibility of protecting their citizens and both promoting public safety and putting the needs of their people first. When necessary, governments should institute orderly migration policies, which sometimes require strong border security measures.”
“We encourage the Administration to conduct immigration enforcement prudently, cautiously, and always with human dignity in mind,” the Church leaders concluded.
Biden’s border policies allowed hundreds of criminal illegal migrants to enter the U.S. through the southern border, many of whom have gone on to commit crimes throughout the country. After returning to the White House, Trump declared an emergency on the U.S.-Mexico border and enabled officials to utilize military aircraft to conduct deportations. Thousands of illegal criminal migrants have been arrested and deported under Trump.
Arlington Bishop Michael F. Burbidge stated recently that despite what Pope Francis and several bishops have said, Catholic teaching does not support open border policies, and the president has a duty to protect the common good for the citizens of his nation. The Pope has previously called Trump’s deportation plans a “disgrace.”
Archbishop Bernard A. Hebda of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis, Bishop Andrew H. Cozzens of the Diocese of Crookston, Bishop Daniel J. Felton of the Diocese of Duluth, Bishop Chad W. Zielinski of the Diocese of New Ulm, Bishop Patrick M. Neary of the Diocese of Saint Cloud, Bishop Robert E. Barron of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester, Auxiliary Bishop Michael J. Izen of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis and the Auxiliary Bishop Kevin T. Kenney of the Archdiocese of Saint Paul and Minneapolis all signed the letter.
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