Florida Catholic bishops ask Trump to pause immigration raids for Christmas

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Florida's Catholic bishops made an enchantment on Monday for a pause in immigration enforcement for the Christmas holidays, however the White Home stated operations will proceed.

The enchantment to President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis was issued by Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski and signed by seven different members of the Florida Convention of Catholic Bishops.

"The border has been secured," Wenski wrote. "The preliminary work of figuring out and eradicating harmful criminals has been completed to a terrific diploma. Over half 1,000,000 individuals have been deported this 12 months, and practically two million extra have voluntarily self-deported."

"At this level, the utmost enforcement method of treating irregular immigrants en masse signifies that now many of those arrest operations inevitably sweep up numbers of people who find themselves not criminals however simply right here to work," he continued. "It must be famous {that a} important majority of these detained in Alligator Alcatraz haven't any prison background."

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<source media="(min-width: 768px) and (max-width: 1023px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/672/378/florida-catholic-biships-immigration-raid-pause-christmas.png?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/1344/756/florida-catholic-biships-immigration-raid-pause-christmas.png?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="378" width="672"><source media="(min-width: 1024px) and (max-width: 1279px)" srcset="https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/931/523/florida-catholic-biships-immigration-raid-pause-christmas.png?ve=1&tl=1, https://a57.foxnews.com/static.foxnews.com/foxnews.com/content/uploads/2025/12/1862/1046/florida-catholic-biships-immigration-raid-pause-christmas.png?ve=1&tl=1 2x" height="523" width="931"> The archbishop of Miami, Thomas Wenski, raises his hand whereas addressing a crowd throughout a panel on immigration at Georgetown College in Washington, Thursday, Sept. 11, 2025. (AP)

He famous that migrant sweeps generally embody individuals with authorized authorization to be within the U.S. and that surveys present People consider immigration enforcement operations are going too far.

"Ultimately these circumstances could also be resolved, however this takes many months inflicting nice sorrow for his or her households … A local weather of concern and nervousness is infecting not solely the irregular migrant but in addition members of the family and neighbors who're legally within the nation," Wenski stated.

"Since these results are a part of enforcement operations, we request that the federal government pause apprehension and round-up actions in the course of the Christmas season," he stated. "Such a pause would present a good regard for the humanity of those households. Now will not be the time to be callous towards the struggling attributable to immigration enforcement."

The White Home didn't instantly deal with the enchantment for a vacation pause, however did say that enforcement actions can be enterprise as traditional.

"President Trump was elected based mostly on his promise to the American individuals to deport prison unlawful aliens. And he’s conserving that promise," White Home spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated in an announcement to The Related Press.

Wenski, like many different Catholic leaders, has been an outspoken advocate for treating unlawful immigrants humanely.

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The White Home stated immigration enforcement actions can be enterprise as traditional. (Getty Pictures)

In September, he joined different Catholic leaders on a panel at Georgetown College criticizing the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration crackdown for splitting up households, inciting concern and upending church life.

Wenski additionally cited the contributions unlawful immigrants make to the U.S. economic system.

"For those who ask individuals in agriculture, you ask within the service business, you ask individuals in well being care, you ask the individuals within the development subject, they usually’ll inform you that a few of their greatest staff are immigrants," Wenski stated. "Enforcement is at all times going to be a part of any immigration coverage, however we now have to rationalize it and humanize it."

Wenski has joined the "Knights on Bikes" ministry, an initiative led by the Knights of Columbus that brings consideration to the non secular wants of migrants held at immigration detention facilities, together with "Alligator Alcatraz" within the Florida Everglades. He recalled praying a rosary within the scorching warmth outdoors its partitions earlier than receiving permission simply days later to have a good time Mass inside the power.

"The truth that we invite these detainees to hope, even on this very dehumanizing state of affairs, is a manner of emphasizing and invoking their dignity," he stated.

Final month, the U.S. Convention of Catholic Bishops adopted a "particular message" through which they slammed Trump's mass deportation agenda and the "vilification" of unlawful immigrants, expressing concern over the concern and nervousness immigration raids are stoking in communities, in addition to the denial of pastoral care in detention facilities.

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Pope Leo XIV has urged native bishops to talk out on social justice considerations. (Grzegorz Galazka/Archivio Grzegorz Galazka/Mondadori Portfolio by way of Getty Pictures)

The particular message was endorsed by Pope Leo XIV and Bishop Ronald Hicks, who the pontiff not too long ago named as the following archbishop of New York, changing conservative Cardinal Timothy Dolan because the chief of the nation’s second-largest Catholic diocese. Dolan introduced earlier this 12 months he would resign upon turning 75, which is required by Catholic legislation.

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"I feel we now have to search for methods of treating individuals humanely, treating individuals with the dignity that they've," Leo stated final month. "If individuals are in the USA illegally, there are methods to deal with that. There are courts, there’s a system of justice."

The pope has beforehand urged native bishops to talk out on social justice considerations and has advised that individuals who assist the "inhuman remedy of immigrants in the USA" is probably not pro-life.