Tipsheet

Here's Why the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops Opposes Deporting Illegal Alien Criminal Gang Members

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  June 29, 2026 1:00 PM

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is objecting to the plan to deport criminal illegal alien gang members from the country. It's an absolute slap in the face and a violation of Catholic teaching. The Catechism of the Catholic Church makes it clear that a nation has a right to enforce its immigration laws, and that immigrants have an obligation to follow the laws of the nation they immigrate to.

Criminal illegal alien gang members don't do that.

The reasoning behind the USCCB's opposition is also maddening.

Here's what the image reads:

On June 2, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops sent a letter to House Judiciary Committee Chairman Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and ranking Democrat member Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) to 'express our opposition' to the Deport Alien Gang Members Act.

The act, introduced in March 2025, makes non-U.S. citizens associated with criminal gangs inadmissible into the United States. If such individuals are present in the country, they are deemed deportable.

"The bill in no way accounts for those forced to engage in covered activities under duress, creating conflicts with existing law, even as criminal enterprises frequently rely on such tactics to exploit vulnerable persons," the group stated. "For this reason, we are especially concerned about the lack of safeguards in the bill for minors and victims of human trafficking."

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also raised concerns that people who unknowingly aid activities of a criminal gang may get penalized under the bill.

So because a small number of people might be coerced by violent criminal gangs, we can't deport any gang members?

We don't think so.

They all get deported.

And here's the real reason why the USCCB opposes immigration enforcement: it's hurting their bottom line.

Since 2019, the USCCB and Catholic Relief Services have received hundreds of billions of dollars.

The Vatican's immigration policies are strict and strictly enforced.

Yes.

It's been an eye-opening experience.

It's very frustrating and disheartening. But the Trump administration should continue deporting criminal illegal aliens. The damage they do to our cities and innocent lives is just grounds for their deportation.