BUENOS AIRES — Cardinal Blase J. Cupich of Chicago reassured migrants in his archdiocese that reports of a possible mass deportation by a new administration in Washington that would target the Chicago area “wound us deeply.”
Priests in Chicago’s St. Rita of Cascia Parish in the city’s Chicago Lawn neighborhood stood in solidarity with local immigrants, inviting them for a special Mass in their intention Jan. 19.
“It is really important to be present to let people know, we will be there wherever we can to support them,” Father Larry Dowling told ABC 7 Eyewitness News.
Right after Donald Trump’s swearing-in ceremony as the 47th president Jan. 20, his administration ended use of a border app called CBP One. A note appeared instead on the app’s website: “Effective January 20, 2025, the functionalities of CBP One™ that previously allowed undocumented aliens to submit advance information and schedule appointments at eight southwest border ports of entry is no longer available, and existing appointments have been cancelled.”
A coalition of advocacy groups led by the American Civil Liberties Union filed a federal lawsuit Jan. 20 challenging President Donald Trump’s Day 1 executive order seeking to change the interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which grants birthright citizenship.
Catholic immigration advocates praised the challenge to that order, with some expressing concern about Trump’s immigration actions more broadly.
The 14th Amendment states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside,” but Trump told reporters in the Oval Office “we’re the only country in the world that does this.” Trump’s order was quickly challenged in a lawsuit brought by the ACLU.
Cardinal Cupich is among Church leaders in Mexico and the U.S. who support migrants threatened by deportation and are urging a readiness to receive them.
Pope Francis, meanwhile, described Trump’s deportation plan in a Jan. 19 Italian television interview as “a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the bill” for U.S. problems.
“While we wish the new administration success in promoting the common good, the reports being circulated of planned mass deportations targeting the Chicago area are not only profoundly disturbing but also wound us deeply. We are proud of our legacy of immigration that continues in our day to renew the city we love,” Cardinal Cupich said in his Jan. 19 remarks at the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, where he was participating in a pilgrimage.
“The Catholic community stands with the people of Chicago in speaking out in defense of the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers. Similarly, if the reports are true, it should be known that we would oppose any plan that includes a mass deportation of U.S. citizens born of undocumented parents,” he continued.
“For members of faith communities, the threatened mass deportations also leave us with the searing question, ‘What is God telling us in this moment?’ People of faith are called to speak for the rights of others and to remind society of its obligation to care for those in need. If the indiscriminate mass deportation being reported were to be carried out, this would be an affront to the dignity of all people and communities, and deny the legacy of what it means to be an American.”
Besides scrapping the CBP One smartphone application, the new president signed a series of executive orders related to the border on his first day in office.
More than 11 million migrants live in the United States illegally, according to Pew Research Center. An estimated 4 million of the migrants originally hail from Mexico. Border cities are expecting to receive returnees, despite public security problems such as drug cartels targeting migrants for kidnap and extortion.
The Trump administration said Jan. 21 it would rescind a long-standing policy preventing Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents from making arrests at what are seen as sensitive locations, including houses of worship, schools and hospitals.
Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, said in a Jan. 21 statement the policy change is one of “many drastic actions from the federal government related to immigration that deeply affect our local community and raise urgent moral and human concerns.”
“The end of the Department of Homeland Security’s sensitive locations policy strikes fear into the heart of our community, cynically layering a blanket of anxiety on families when they are worshiping God, seeking healthcare and dropping off and picking up children at school,” Bishop Seitz said.
The Mexican bishops’ conference’s human mobility ministry has called for generosity from dioceses, parishes, religious orders and schools in receiving returned migrants.
“Let us put ourselves in the place of our migrant brothers and sisters and those who are deported; at the time of suffering the separation from their families, the uprooting and the collapse of years of sacrifices, work and dreams, they experience enormous pain, profound fear and terrible uncertainty,” read the Jan. 16 statement, signed by Bishop Eugenio Lira Rugarcía of Matamoros, director of the human mobility ministry, and Auxiliary Bishop Héctor Mario Pérez Villarreal of Mexico City, secretary-general of the conference.
“Let us pray for them and offer them the material support they need, while at the same time trying to integrate them into the community.”
