Vance tells Catholic bishops to "look in the mirror" over immigration policy concerns
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Vice President JD Vance speaks at Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth's swearing-in ceremony on Jan. 25. Photo: Ron Sachs/CNP/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Vice President Vance said in an interview aired Sunday that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has "not been a good partner in common-sense immigration enforcement" after the assembly condemned several of President Trump's executive orders.
Why it matters: A number of Christian organizations rebuked Trump's immigration executive orders in the days after his inauguration, noting how they violate core tenets of Christianity and endanger vulnerable populations.
- Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, the USCCB president, said in a Wednesday statement that some provisions of Trump's executive actions, including those that affect immigrants and refugees, "are deeply troubling and will have negative consequences."
- A day later, the group released a separate statement condemning the revised DHS policy that scraps prior guidance for immigration officials to avoid so-called sensitive areas, like schools and churches.
- "[N]on-emergency immigration enforcement in schools, places of worship, social service agencies, healthcare facilities, or other sensitive settings where people receive essential services would be contrary to the common good," the USCCB statement read.
Driving the news: Vance, who is Catholic, said he was "heartbroken" by the USCCB statement on CBS News' "Face the Nation."
- "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?" Vance questioned. "Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?"
- According to the USCCB website, the U.S. Catholic Bishops' Migration and Refugee Services department helps resettle around 18% of the refugees who arrive in the country each year.
State of play: Trump's executive order suspending refugee resettlement programs prompted the administration to cancel flights for incoming refugees who had already been approved, leaving thousands stranded.
- Vance argued in the interview aired Sunday that not "all of these refugees" had been "properly vetted."
Zoom out: While several clergy members and organizations have condemned Trump's executive actions through statements, the Right Rev. Mariann Budde made headlines when she asked Trump to his face to "have mercy" on immigrants and LGBTQ+ people from the Washington National Cathedral pulpit.
- The president slammed Budde, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, as a "Radical Left hard line Trump hater" in a Wednesday Truth Social post.
Threat level: According to the USCCB's statement condemning DHS' new guidelines on sensitive spaces, the move has already had a chilling effect: "[W]e are already witnessing reticence among immigrants to engage in daily life, including sending children to school and attending religious services."
- CBS' Margaret Brennan noted the possibility of a chilling effect prompting immigrants not to send their children to school, to which Vance replied he "desperately" hopes it has a "chilling effect on illegal immigrants coming into our country."
- He added he hopes as "a devout Catholic" that the USCCB will "do better."
Go deeper: Trump's immigration crackdown met with defiance from local police
