High-ranking Catholic officials, including two American cardinals and the Vatican's U.S. ambassador, criticized widespread deportation efforts in Minnesota during a special Mass for migrants. The religious leaders called for healing and reconciliation while supporting humane immigration solutions.
ST. PAUL, Minn. — High-ranking Catholic Church officials strongly criticized widespread deportation operations taking place in Minnesota, while simultaneously calling for unity and compassionate immigration policies during a special religious service on Friday.
Cardinal Robert McElroy from Washington spoke to growing worries about immigration enforcement during a Mass for migrants, which he conducted alongside fellow church leaders and the Twin Cities’ archbishop. McElroy emphasized the importance of promoting peace on this divisive topic.
McElroy characterized the winter’s enforcement operations as “almost a siege” that occurred in “literally the heartland of our country.”
“Catholic teaching supports the nation’s right to control its border and, in these cases, to deport those who’ve been convicted of serious crimes,” he stated. “Seeking to deport millions of men and women and children — families who often lived here for decades, many children who don’t know other countries — is contrary to Catholic faith and, more fundamentally, contrary to basic human dignity.”
The service brought together McElroy, Cardinal Joseph Tobin from Newark, New Jersey, Cardinal Christophe Pierre who serves as the apostolic nuncio to the United States, Archbishop Bernard Hebda of St. Paul and Minneapolis, and over two dozen additional Catholic bishops. The morning ceremony took place at the University of St. Thomas chapel as part of their demonstration of support for migrants during a conference they were attending.
“I’m very proud, personally, to see our church, you know, be on the side of those who suffer,” Pierre stated, noting that Pope Leo XIV supported the U.S. bishops’ advocacy for migrants.
During his sermon, Hebda expressed his frustration when immigrant communities became too afraid to attend church services while “masked men” — referring to federal law enforcement officers — patrolled neighborhoods and violent incidents occurred during the winter’s immigration enforcement in the Twin Cities area.
However, he encouraged those in attendance — including seminary students, university community members, and school administrators filling the seats — to practice compassion and prioritize peace.
“That ministry of reconciliation has to be ours, in the Twin Cities and around the world,” Hebda declared during his sermon.
Minnesota has become an international focal point for tensions surrounding arrests and deportations. A major enforcement operation brought thousands of federal agents into daily confrontations with activists and demonstrators, resulting in the deaths of two individuals — Renee Good and Alex Pretti, both American citizens — in Minneapolis this year.
Religious leaders from various denominations participated in the protests, including approximately 100 clergy members who were detained after refusing to leave Minnesota’s largest airport during one of the most significant mobilization efforts last month.
The regional Catholic leadership, however, adopted a more diplomatic approach.
Following both deadly incidents, Hebda stressed the importance of reducing “the temperature of rhetoric” and eliminating “the hatreds and prejudices that prevent us from seeing each other as brothers and sisters.” He specifically mentioned this applied equally to “our undocumented neighbors” and “the men and women who have the unenviable responsibility of enforcing our laws.”
During Friday’s event, the church leaders discussed praying for all those impacted — including families of the deceased, migrants and their supporters, and “the ICE men and women, too,” as McElroy put it when referencing Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers.
“We all need to engage in healing and reconciliation,” he continued. “It will take a long time.”
When questioned about whether Catholics — who predominantly supported President Donald Trump in 2024 — might view migrant advocacy as political involvement by the church, the cardinals explained that both religion and politics should focus on society’s welfare.
Tobin emphasized that while their primary loyalty belongs to God, Scripture commands caring for foreigners and welcoming strangers more frequently than loving one’s neighbor.
“The Creator figured that there was a better chance we’d love people who we thought looked like us. We had to be reminded frequently about everybody else,” Tobin explained.
Supporting migrants was a key focus for the late Pope Francis, who had disagreed with Trump regarding U.S. border policies since the former president first sought office ten years ago.
Under Pope Leo, the first American pontiff, the Catholic Church has maintained its calls for compassionate treatment of immigrants worldwide and immigration reform in the United States — an issue that has remained unresolved in Congress for many years.
“The longer we refuse to grapple with this issue in the political arena, the more divisive and violent it becomes,” Hebda had observed in January.
McElroy and Tobin, along with Cardinal Blase Cupich from Chicago, recently criticized the Trump administration regarding foreign policy ethics. In a January statement, they warned that U.S. military involvement in Venezuela, threats concerning Greenland, and reductions in foreign aid could lead to widespread suffering rather than peace.