The Trump administration has been in control of the White House for over a hundred days, and in that time it has made shifts in policy from the previous Biden administration. From foreign affairs, to making cuts in funding and government jobs, US policies have changed very much in a short amount of time. However, one of the most drastic changes made by the Trump administration has been US immigration policy.
Trump’s Immigration Policy
The Trump immigration policy has very much been focused on reducing an influx of immigrants at the border and mass deportations.
According to the White House, there have been 139,000 deportations since the president took office in January.
President Trump issued an executive order to reinstate the Alien Enemies Act of 1798, granting himself war-time authority to detain and remove “illegal aliens” from the United States without court hearings.
“It’s really scary. It goes against the Catholic doctrine of loving your neighbor, caring for your neighbor. Seeing it from a Catholic and just moral perspective is just really scary,” Cait Kenary ‘26 said.
Since he has come into office, there has been a massive decrease in the inflow of immigrants crossing the United States border, including the regulation and limitation of humanitarian migration programs.
“I think everything he’s doing is unconstitutional and it goes against his ‘Christianity.’ Christianity preaches to help immigrants and to always aid people yet he is purposefully going out of his way to make lives difficult,” Annika Bhadra ‘26 said.
ICE has also been reported to have shown up outside of schools waiting to detain young immigrants, making moves to deport minors or those who “look gang-affiliated.”
There have been reports of administrative errors regarding the deportation of US citizens. According to BBC, three US citizens who are children were deported to Honduras, one of whom has stage 4 cancer.
The most prominent developing story has been the deportation of Abrego Garcia, who was deported to a prison in El Salvador despite being a legal status and having no criminal background or gang affiliation. He has been separated from his wife and son, and despite the administrative mistake, he still has not been brought back to the United States.
Deported immigrants face family separations and a potential exposure to violence and danger in their home countries.
Catholic View On Immigration
“The teaching of the Catholic Church and many Christian denominations is pretty clear. It’s all about the human dignity of each individual person. And each person is made in the image and likeness of God, and that’s regardless of their religion, their race, their socio economic status, and of course their nationality. The church views migration as a right of people to escape conditions like extreme poverty and violence, to seek a better life. That has been part of the Christian and Jewish traditions for many years,” Campus Minister, Mr. Charlie Bates said.
According to the Vatican, The Catholic view on immigration is to “welcome the stranger” and aid those seeking asylum from violence or looking for a better life. The church acknowledges safety in borders and legal immigration, but always stresses the human treatment of migrants. Catholic Social Teaching emphasizes this belief as well.
The church has reacted against the Trump administration in very clear ways. According to CNN, Catholic bishops sued the Trump administration for halting funding in refugee settlements in February.
According to AP News, in February Pope Francis had also criticized the deportation of immigrants by the Trump administration before his passing in as well, saying that the methods of mass deportations undermines immigrants “inherent human dignity.” He wrote the US bishops a letter urging them to stand with their “immigrant brothers and sisters.”
Sisters of Saint Joseph Mobilize
The SSJ’s specifically have also responded to the Trump administration’s immigration policy.
The SSJ Neighborhood Center in Camden, New Jersey has had the mission of aiding immigrants in the Camden area since 2014. Since Trump’s immigration policy change, they have worked especially hard to continue their mission despite limitations placed on organizations like the Neighborhood Center by the Trump administration.
In January, a group of SSJ’s stood with New Sanctuary Movement activists outside of the US Immigration and Customs Office in Philadelphia to stand up for immigrant rights. They continue to raise awareness and urge lawmakers to act on US immigration policy.
