Immigration and Mass Deportations

 

by CAPP-USA

 

The President and the Pope

The issues of immigration and mass deportations were key topics during the recent US presidential election and have continued with the reelection of President Trump.

President Trump called for mass deportations during the campaign and has signed numerous executive orders pertaining to immigration, border security and refugees.

On January 19, during an appearance on an Italian evening talk show, Pope Francis was asked his thoughts about Mr. Trump’s comments on mass deportations. “If this is true, it is a disgrace because it makes the poor unfortunate who have nothing pay the price of imbalance. This is not how things are solved”. (Pope Francis)

Did Catholics Vote for Mass Deportations?

For voting American Catholics—58% of whom cast their ballot for Mr. Trump—this raises an important question: how should an American Catholic respond to mass deportations?

The answer: it depends on the scope.

The Church is clear about the rights and dignity of migrants and refugees and the necessity of governments to enforce the laws of their nations in service to the Common Good.

How Catholic Social Teaching Guides Us

Let us examine two scenarios to see how Catholics might approach each:

SCENARIO #1

Targeted Deportation

The Church recognizes the rights of nations to govern and protect themselves in the interests of the Common Good.

“Certainly every state has the right to regulate migration and to enact policies dictated by the general requirements of the common good,” wrote Pope Benedict XVI.

Categories for deportation of specific groups can be reasonably asserted as a matter of safety. Those caught in the drug trade, human traffickers, or others engaging in violent criminal activities pose a clear threat to the community in which they reside.

Such an approach to deportation is well-supported by Church teaching.

The same applies to immigration laws, i.e., who is allowed entry.

Pope St. John Paul II affirmed as much when he wrote “Certainly, the exercise of such a right [to emigrate] is to be regulated, because practicing it indiscriminately may do harm and be detrimental to the common good of the community that receives the migrant.” (World Migration Day 2001, 3)

The Church even places an obligation on the immigrant population. Once settled, they “are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.” (CCC, 2241)

The Church recognizes the state’s duty to the Common Good and the dignity of each person, and immigrants’ duty to the receiving community.

The state has a duty to defend itself and immigrants who are seeking to better themselves have a right to do so.

SCENARIO #2

Mass Deportation

First, we should recognize the Church clearly affirms “…the right of all men to migrate to other countries and to seek conditions worthy of human life for themselves and for their families.” (Gaudium et Spes)

Also, estimating the exact number of unauthorized immigrants in the United States is challenging due to the nature of this population.

However, the (Department of Homeland Security, September 2024) estimates the number at 11.9 million. [While higher estimates are often quoted, given the complexities involved in accurately counting an unauthorized population, estimates can vary, and figures should be interpreted with caution, considering the methodologies and potential biases of the sources.]

Most immigrants have come to the United States to escape economic depression, civil unrest, gang violence, human trafficking, the drug trade, and to seek a better life.

Many of these people work, participate in their communities, and build families. In fact, as of March 31, 2023, there were approximately 578,680 active recipients of the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in the United States (USCIS). These are often referred to as the “Dreamers”.

So, what about these people?

To remove 12 million people, many/most of whom are contributing and adding to the community would be difficult to support as, “The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin.” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 2241)

Furthermore, as Pope Benedict XVI reminds us, “Every migrant is a human person who, as such, possesses fundamental, inalienable rights that must be respected by everyone and in every circumstance.” (Caritas in Veritate, 62)

While the state can exercise its removal authority, removal policies should ensure “safeguarding respect for the dignity of each human person.” (Pope Benedict XVI)

A mass deportation program would not be aligned to Church teaching.

The Bottom Line

So, where does that leave us?

As with all social issues, policy should be based on the principles of Human Dignity, Solidarity and Subsidiarity. Doing so would exclude the extremes: “let all/anyone in” or “throw them all out”.

Catholics should internalize Pope Francis’ comments that, “Immigrants, if they are helped to integrate, are a blessing, a source of enrichment and new gift that encourages a society to grow.” (Fratelli Tutti, 135)

American Catholics should ask what should we do to both welcome the stranger and to prudently protect our community.

As always, people of good will – guided by the principles of Catholic social teaching – can disagree on the best policy that threads that needle.