The Archbishop of Chicago has issued a video that shares the church’s stance on migrants. In his address on Oct. 21, Cardinal Blasé J. Cupich made it clear that the church stands with migrants.
“My dear brothers and sisters, today I speak to you as your shepherd, but also as a fellow pilgrim who shares the pain of many of our immigrant communities,” Cupich said in his statement.
“Families are being torn apart. Children are left in fear, and communities are shaken by immigration raids and detentions. These actions wound the soul of our city. Let me be clear. The church stands with migrants.”
His statement comes amid reports of violent and deadly raids from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in the Chicago area. been violent and deadly raids in Chicago.
On Sept. 12, ICE agents shot and killed 38-year-old Silverio Villegas-Gonzalez in the Franklin Park suburb of Chicago. Shortly after, ICE issued a statement that justified the killing, saying the federal agent was “seriously injured” as agents tried to conduct a vehicle stop to arrest Villegas-Gonzalez.
Bodycam video released from Franklin Park police officers showed the injured ICE agent describing his injuries as “nothing major,” NBC News reports.
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker pushed back on the statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
“In the agent’s own words — ‘nothing major.’ A man is dead. A community is shaken up. And we are yet again left with more questions than answers,” the governor said.
Then weeks later, ICE sparked a national debate following a large-scale raid on an apartment building in Chicago’s South Shore neighborhood on Sept. 30th, resulting in the detention of dozens of people, including U.S. citizens. Agents said the raid, which involved helicopters and rappelling from the roof, was aimed at suspected Tren de Aragua gang members. However, many residents who were not targets were detained, including children, who were separated from their parents and apprehended with zip ties.
“Our parishes and schools will not turn away those who seek comfort, and we will not be silent when dignity is denied in the enforcement of the law,” Cardinal Cupich added in his address. “It is essential that we respect the dignity of every human being.”