10 Myths and Facts About Immigration and What the Catholic Church Teaches
What the Church Really Says About Open Borders, Immigrant Rights, National Sovereignty, and Immigration Enforcement
by CAPP-USA
Ten common myths about immigration obscure Catholic teaching on open borders, immigrant rights, national sovereignty, border security, and enforcement.
What are the essential facts about immigration and Church teaching?
The Catholic Church does not teach open borders. Nor does it endorse immigration enforcement without moral limits.
Catholic Social Teaching recognizes the rights and duties of migrants, the authority and responsibilities of nations, and the obligation to order immigration law toward human dignity and the common good.
Some invoke the Church as though it demanded open borders and opposed nearly every form of immigration enforcement. Others emphasize national sovereignty while overlooking the duties owed to migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.
Neither view captures the whole teaching.
Here are ten common myths—and facts about immigration and what the Catholic Church actually teaches.
Facts About Immigration at a Glance
| Common Myth About Immigration | Church Teaching | Key Source |
| The Church teaches open borders. | Nations may regulate immigration and defend their borders for the common good, while respecting human dignity. | (CCC 2241; Pope Benedict XVI) |
| Immigrants have no duties toward receiving countries. | Immigrants must obey laws, respect the receiving nation’s heritage, and share civic responsibilities. | (CCC 2241) |
| The Church ignores the needs of citizens. | Governments may consider citizens, security, capacity, and social cohesion while respecting migrants’ fundamental rights. | (Gaudium et Spes, 26) |
| Poverty creates an absolute right to enter another country. | People possess a real right to migrate, but not an unlimited right to enter any particular country. | (Pope Benedict XVI) |
| Immigration enforcement is un-Christian. | Enforcement may be morally legitimate when it is just, humane, proportionate, and respectful of due process. | (Pope Francis, 2025) |
| Catholics must support one immigration platform. | The Church establishes moral principles; many policy details require prudential judgment. | (Pope Benedict XVI, 28) |
| Solidarity requires higher immigration levels. | Solidarity requires concern for migrants and the common good, not one predetermined admissions number. | (Pope St. John Paul II, 38) |
| National sovereignty is immoral. | Sovereignty is legitimate, but political authority exists to serve persons and the common good. | (Pope Benedict XVI) |
| Security concerns are anti-immigrant. | Public safety and border security are part of the common good, but security measures must address actual threats. | (Pope Francis, 2025) |
| The Church should remain silent about immigration. | The Church must teach the moral principles by which immigration policies are judged. | (Pope Benedict XVI, 28) |
Three Catholic Principles for Understanding Immigration
Every migrant, citizen, refugee, asylum seeker, and person without legal status possesses an inherent worth that government does not create and cannot remove.
Immigration policy must take seriously the good of migrants, citizens, receiving communities, and the wider human family.
Immigration responsibilities should be addressed at the most local competent level, while national and international authorities provide coordination and assistance when the problem exceeds local capacity.
And the result is…
Government must protect the social conditions that allow people, families, and communities to flourish—including public order, security, justice, social cohesion, and respect for fundamental rights.
Myth #1: “The Church Teaches Open Borders”
THE FACT ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND CHURCH TEACHING
No it does not. The Church explicitly recognizes the right of nations to regulate immigration and defend their borders for the sake of the common good.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states that political authorities “may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions.” (CCC 2241)
Pope Benedict XVI was equally direct:
“States have the right to regulate migration flows and to defend their own frontiers.” (Message for the 97th World Day of Migrants and Refugees)
But the Church does not give governments unlimited authority. Pope Benedict immediately added that border regulation must always guarantee “the respect due to the dignity of each and every human person.”
The Catholic position is therefore neither open borders nor enforcement at any cost.
Nations may control entry, but they must do so justly.
For a fuller treatment, see CAPP-USA’s analysis of border security and Catholic teaching.
Myth #2: “Immigrants Have No Obligations Toward Their New Country”
THE FACT ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND CHURCH TEACHING
Yes. Immigrants possess real rights—but they also have real duties toward the countries that receive them.
The Catechism teaches that immigrants are obliged “to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, obey its laws, and assist in carrying civic burdens.” (CCC 2241)
Pope Benedict XVI similarly taught that immigrants have a duty to integrate into their host country, respect its laws, and honor its national identity. (Message for the 97th World Day of Migrants and Refugees)
Integration does not require abandoning one’s language, family history, or legitimate cultural traditions.
But neither does immigration create a one-sided claim upon the receiving country.
Rights and responsibilities belong together.
Learn more in CAPP-USA’s guide to immigrant rights and duties.
Myth #3: “The Church Only Cares About Immigrants, Not Citizens”
THE FACT ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND CHURCH TEACHING
No. Catholic teaching considers the good of everyone affected—including citizens, lawful immigrants, refugees, undocumented residents, workers,
families, and local communities.
A government bears particular responsibilities toward its own citizens. It may legitimately consider public safety, housing, employment, fiscal capacity, social cohesion, and the ability of communities to receive and integrate newcomers.
But the common good is not simply whatever benefits the majority.
The Second Vatican Council defined it as: “the sum of those conditions of social life which allow social groups and their individual members relatively thorough and ready access to their own fulfillment.” (Gaudium et Spes, 26)
Governments may give particular attention to citizens without treating foreigners as though they have no rights. The dignity of the human person does not begin at the border or depend upon citizenship.
Justice must consider every person and community substantially affected by immigration policy.
Explore the common good and human dignity.
Myth #4: “Poverty Creates an Automatic Right to Enter Another Country”
THE FACT ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND CHURCH TEACHING
No. People possess a real right to migrate in search of safety and a dignified life—but not an unlimited right to enter any country under every circumstance.
Pope Benedict XVI described migration as a fundamental human right connected to a person’s ability to seek a place where legitimate aspirations and abilities can be realized. He also affirmed that this does not create an unlimited right to enter any particular country. Each state may regulate migration according to the requirements of the common good. (Message for the 99th World Day of Migrants and Refugees)
The right to leave one’s country, the right to seek protection from persecution, and the right to enter a particular receiving country are related—but they are not identical.
A person fleeing war, persecution, or conditions threatening basic survival presents a much stronger moral claim than someone moving primarily for greater economic opportunity.
Receiving countries may also consider security, capacity, social stability, and their duties toward current residents.
The Church asks nations to take human need seriously. It does not teach that every desire to migrate creates an absolute right of admission.
Myth #5: “All Immigration Enforcement Is Un-Christian”
THE FACT ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND CHURCH TEACHING
No. Immigration enforcement is not inherently immoral or un-Christian.
Nations may enforce just laws, prevent unlawful entry, protect public safety, and remove persons after a fair determination that they have no lawful or humanitarian basis to remain.
The rule of law is a genuine moral good. It protects the vulnerable, restrains arbitrary power, and establishes the order necessary for social life.
But enforcing a law does not automatically make every method of enforcement just.
Enforcement must be proportionate to the violation or danger involved. It must respect due process, distinguish violent offenders from peaceful residents, and avoid unnecessary harm to children and families.
It must also preserve meaningful procedures for those who may face persecution or grave danger if returned.
Pope Francis explicitly affirmed that concern for migrants does not prevent the development of policies regulating “orderly and legal migration.” He also warned that such policies cannot be built through “the privilege of some and the sacrifice of others.” (Letter to the Bishops of the United States)
The Church does not oppose enforcement. It insists that enforcement itself be just.
For a closer examination of law, personal culpability, and moral responsibility, see Is Undocumented Immigration Sinful?
Myth #6: “Catholics Must Support One Specific Immigration Policy”
THE FACT ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND CHURCH TEACHING
No. Catholic Social Teaching establishes moral principles—not a single political platform or immigration program.
The Church does not specify:
- the number of immigrants a nation must admit;
- the amount of border infrastructure it should construct;
- the proper annual refugee ceiling;
- the balance between detention and supervised release;
- the precise conditions for legalization or regularization.
Faithful Catholics may disagree about barriers, visa levels, enforcement priorities, legalization programs, detention policies, and how much weight should be given to years of unlawful residence.
These are questions of prudential judgment. But prudential judgment does not mean that anything goes.
Policies must still respect human dignity, the common good, family life, proportionality, justice, and the legitimate authority of the state.
Catholics may debate which policies will best achieve those ends; they may not simply remove the ends from consideration.
As Pope Benedict XVI explained, the Church does not replace the state or impose a political program. Her role is to help form consciences and ensure that justice remains the measure of political life. (Deus Caritas Est, 28)
Myth #7: “Solidarity Requires Higher Immigration Levels”
THE FACT ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND CHURCH TEACHING
Not necessarily. Solidarity requires seeking the good of migrants and recognizing them as members of the one human family—but it does not dictate a particular immigration number.
Solidarity is not vague sympathy.
St. John Paul II defined it as: “A firm and persevering determination to commit oneself to the common good.” (Sollicitudo Rei Socialis, 38)
In one situation, solidarity may require receiving more refugees, protecting asylum seekers, or creating realistic legal pathways for needed workers.
In another, the common good may require limiting inflows when communities genuinely lack the capacity to provide housing, employment, education, security, or effective integration.
Solidarity also asks why people are being forced to leave home. It may require international cooperation, economic development, peacebuilding, action against persecution, and policies enabling people to live with dignity in their own countries.
The number admitted is a prudential question. Whether migrants fall within our moral concern is not.
See CAPP-USA’s guide to solidarity in Catholic Social Teaching.
Myth #8: “The Catholic Church Opposes National Sovereignty”
THE FACT ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND CHURCH TEACHING
No. Catholic teaching recognizes national sovereignty and the legitimate authority of states to regulate their borders.
Political communities are not unfortunate obstacles to universal brotherhood. They are necessary forms of social organization through which people pursue justice, security, participation, and a shared civic life.
A country therefore has a right to control its territory, regulate entry, defend its frontiers, and protect its citizens.
But sovereignty is not absolute.
The state does not create human dignity, and it cannot erase the fundamental rights people possess by virtue of being human.
Pope Benedict XVI held these truths together: every state may regulate migration according to the common good, but always while safeguarding the dignity of each person. (Message for the 99th World Day of Migrants and Refugees)
Catholic teaching neither abolishes sovereignty nor idolizes it. Political authority is legitimate precisely because—and only insofar as—it serves persons and the common good.
See also explanations of subsidiarity and the common good.
Myth #9: “Caring for Immigrants Means Ignoring Security”
THE FACT ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND CHURCH TEACHING
No. Public safety and border security are part of the common good. Compassion does not require naivety about violence, trafficking, drugs, weapons, or genuine security threats.
Governments may screen entrants, conduct background checks, patrol borders, combat trafficking, and exclude or remove people who pose serious dangers.
Indeed, an uncontrolled border can expose migrants themselves to grave harm. Traffickers and smugglers profit when legal systems are weak, pathways are unclear, and vulnerable people are placed at the mercy of criminal organizations.
Security measures, however, must be directed toward actual threats. They should not treat every migrant, family, or asylum seeker as dangerous simply because of nationality or immigration status.
Pope Francis warned against allowing fear to determine our judgment of migrants, while acknowledging that concern for migrants does not prevent governments from developing policies for “orderly and legal migration.” (Letter to the Bishops of the United States)
The proper question is not whether security matters. It is whether security measures are effective, proportionate, and respectful of the innocent. For more, see whether the Church sanctions mass deportations.
Myth #10: “The Church Should Stay Out of Immigration Policy”
THE FACT ABOUT IMMIGRATION AND CHURCH TEACHING
No. The Church does not claim technical expertise over every visa category, border technology, detention rule, or enforcement priority.
But immigration raises unavoidable moral questions on which the Church has both the right and the duty to speak.
Immigration touches:
- human dignity;
- family unity;
- justice;
- solidarity;
- subsidiarity;
- political authority;
- national sovereignty;
- the rule of law;
- the common good.
These are central concerns of Catholic Social Teaching.
The Church does not replace legislators, border officials, judges, economists, or security professionals. Nor does every policy recommendation made by an individual bishop, Catholic agency, or advocacy organization carry the authority of defined Church teaching.
But technical decisions are never morally neutral merely because they are technical. The Church must identify the principles by which policies and their consequences should be judged.
As Pope Benedict XVI explained, the Church does not seek to take over the political life of the state. She seeks instead to help “purify reason” and awaken the moral forces required to establish and sustain justice. (Deus Caritas Est, 28)
The Church should not dictate immigration policy. She must help ensure that immigration policy remains accountable to moral truth.
What Does the Catholic Church Actually Teach About Immigration?
Catholic teaching does not ask us to choose between borders and human dignity, citizens and migrants, sovereignty and solidarity, or law and compassion.
It recognizes that nations possess a right—and a duty—to regulate immigration, defend their borders, protect their people, and preserve the social order necessary for human flourishing.
It also insists that this authority be exercised justly.
Migrants possess responsibilities toward receiving countries.
Governments possess responsibilities toward citizens and newcomers alike.
Enforcement may be necessary, but it must respect human dignity, due process, family life, and the morally relevant differences among individual cases.
This is not a compromise between political left and right.
It is a coherent moral framework that challenges both—affirming the legitimate authority of nations while refusing to let sovereignty, law, or security erase the dignity of the human person.
For more of the Church’s teaching in her own words, see Immigration Quotes from the Church.
Frequently Asked Questions About Catholic Teaching on Immigration
Does the Catholic Church support deportation?
The Church does not teach that deportation is inherently immoral. Removal may be legitimate after a fair determination that a person has no lawful or humanitarian basis to remain. But enforcement must respect due process, proportionality, family life, length of residence, and danger upon return.
For a full analysis, see Border Security and Catholic Social Teaching.
Is illegal immigration a mortal sin?
Unlawful entry or residence is morally significant, but the gravity and culpability of an individual act depend upon intention, necessity, knowledge, freedom, and circumstances. The fact that an act violates civil law does not by itself settle every question of personal moral culpability.
For a full analysis, see Is Undocumented Immigration Sinful?
Must Catholics support amnesty?
No. Catholics must apply principles including human dignity, justice, the rule of law, solidarity, family life, political authority, and the common good. They may prudentially disagree about legalization or regularization programs.
For the structural questions raised when legal status cannot realistically be resolved, see When There Is No Path to Citizenship.
Does the right to migrate mean a right to enter any country?
No. Catholic teaching recognizes a real right to migrate while also affirming the authority of states to regulate entry according to the common good.
See CAPP-USA’s Immigration Overview for the larger framework.
Does the Church put immigrants’ rights above citizens’ rights?
No. Catholic Social Teaching considers the rights, duties, and legitimate needs of everyone affected.
Governments possess particular responsibilities toward citizens, but they may not pursue those responsibilities by denying the human dignity or fundamental rights of migrants.
To learn more about the reciprocal responsibilities of migrants and receiving nation, see Immigrant Rights and Duties.
CAPP-USA (Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice, Inc.) is the United States affiliate of the Vatican-based pontifical foundation of Fondazione Centesimus Annus Pro Pontifice, established by Pope St. John Paul II in 1993 to promote Catholic Social Teaching in fidelity to the Magisterium of the Catholic Church. CAPP-USA is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization.
