News by email Donate

Suggestions

JD Vance.png
JD Vance.png
USA News

JD Vance says bishops must 'do better' on immigration

by Anna Rees

Vice President JD Vance has said that US Catholic bishops must “do better” in their attitude to immigration laws, claiming that they care more about their financial “bottom line” than refugees.

It comes a week after the US Conference of Catholic Bishops condemned some of Trump’s executive orders. President of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, said the administration’s policy on allowing Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officials to make arrests in places of worship was “deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us”.

JD Vance joined Margaret Brennan on CBS’ Face the Nation, where she asked the Ohio Republican whether he would “personally support the idea of conducting a raid or enforcement action in a church service, at a school”.

Vance replied: “As a Catholic… 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?

“I think the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has, frankly, not been a good partner in commonsense immigration enforcement that the American people voted for, and I hope, again, as a devout Catholic, that they'll do better."

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops is one of 10 agencies which receive federal funding to assist refugees, provided they qualify for federal assistance.

Among these refugees are people resettled through the US refugee admissions programme, noncitizen children, and victims of human trafficking and torture.

Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Migration said: “Preventing any access to asylum and other protections will only endanger those who are most vulnerable and deserving of relief, while empowering gangs and other predators to exploit them.

“Likewise, indefinitely halting refugee resettlement is unmerited, as it is already proven to be one of the most secure legal pathways to the United States.” 

Vance’s comments come a week after the Bishop of Washington, Mariann Edgar Budde asked Donald Trump to “have mercy” on immigrants – to which the president hit back, saying she was “not good at her job”.

A Monthly Gift Of $11 Makes A World Of Difference

In a world of fake news there’s never been a greater need for quality Christian journalism. Premier’s mission is to provide the Church with the most up to date and relevant news, told from a Christian perspective. But we can’t do it without you.

Unlike many websites we haven't put up a paywall — we want to keep our journalism free at the point of need and as open as we can. Premier’s news output takes a lot of time, money and hard work to produce. No one in the USA is sharing news like we are across radio, magazines and online so please help us to continue that today.

For a monthly gift of $11 or more we’d also be able to send you a free copy of the brand new Premier Bible, a wonderful Anglicised version of the NLT packed with exclusive bonus content, reading plan and resources to help you get the most out of scripture.

Your monthly support will make a world of difference. Thank you.

Support Us
Continue the conversation on our Facebook page

Related Articles

Sign up to our newsletter to stay informed with news from a Christian perspective.

News by email

Connect

Donate

Donate