Trump has been catering to Catholic voters for years now. But now he’s giving some push back.
Because the White House snubbed the US Catholic Bishops with one stunning move.
Florida Bishops Request Holiday Pause in Immigration Enforcement
Florida’s Catholic bishops issued a public appeal on Monday urging a temporary halt to immigration enforcement actions during the Christmas season, addressing the request to President Donald Trump and Governor Ron DeSantis.
The letter, authored by Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski and co-signed by seven fellow members of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, acknowledged recent progress in border security and deportations while raising concerns about the human impact of ongoing operations.
“The border has been secured,” Wenski wrote. “The initial work of identifying and removing dangerous criminals has been accomplished to a great degree. Over half a million people have been deported this year, and nearly two million more have voluntarily self-deported.”
“At this point, the maximum enforcement approach of treating irregular immigrants en masse means that now many of these arrest operations inevitably sweep up numbers of people who are not criminals but just here to work,” he continued. “It should be noted that a significant majority of those detained in Alligator Alcatraz have no criminal background.”
Wenski pointed out that some operations affect individuals with legal status and referenced public opinion indicating that many Americans view current enforcement levels as excessive.
“Eventually these cases may be resolved, but this takes many months causing great sorrow for their families … A climate of fear and anxiety is infecting not only the irregular migrant but also family members and neighbors who are legally in the country,” Wenski said.
“Since these effects are part of enforcement operations, we request that the government pause apprehension and round-up activities during the Christmas season,” he said. “Such a pause would show a decent regard for the humanity of these families. Now is not the time to be callous toward the suffering caused by immigration enforcement.”
White House Maintains Enforcement Continuity
The White House responded to inquiries about the bishops’ request by affirming that immigration enforcement would proceed without interruption.
“President Trump was elected based on his promise to the American people to deport criminal illegal aliens. And he’s keeping that promise,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The administration did not specifically comment on the proposed holiday pause.
Broader Church Advocacy on Humane Treatment
Archbishop Wenski has consistently advocated for compassionate approaches to immigration, highlighting migrants’ economic roles and the need for balanced policy.
“If you ask people in agriculture, you ask in the service industry, you ask people in health care, you ask the people in the construction field, and they’ll tell you that some of their best workers are immigrants,” Wenski said. “Enforcement is always going to be part of any immigration policy, but we have to rationalize it and humanize it.”
He has participated in outreach efforts, including the Knights of Columbus’ “Knights on Bikes” ministry, which addresses spiritual support for detainees at facilities like Alligator Alcatraz in the Florida Everglades.
“The fact that we invite these detainees to pray, even in this very dehumanizing situation, is a way of emphasizing and invoking their dignity,” he said.
This appeal aligns with wider Catholic leadership positions, including a recent U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops message criticizing mass deportations and related rhetoric, endorsed by Pope Leo XIV.
“I think we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have,” Leo said last month. “If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts, there’s a system of justice.”
The pope has encouraged bishops to address social justice issues and has previously linked support for humane immigration treatment to pro-life values.
