U.S. Bishops Reject Accusations of ‘Complicity’ in Illegal Immigration

The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has released a statement denying “false claims” that Catholic nonprofit organizations are complicit in human trafficking, smuggling, harboring, or child exploitation across the country’s southern border.

“Catholic organizations cooperate in providing humanitarian aid with local, state, and federal officials,” the statement reads. “This includes working with law enforcement to identify and counter criminal activity, such as human trafficking, and assisting those who have been victimized by crime.”

The bishops go on to say that agencies such as Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) “often rely on Catholic organizations for their expertise and as trusted partners within local communities.”

The bishops’ statement responds to accusations that Catholic nonprofit organizations have encouraged or abetted illegal immigration into the United States from Mexico.

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As one example, last February, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton sued Annunciation House, an El Paso shelter and NGO, after its leadership declined to provide his office with internal documents it had requested. The lawsuit was subsequently dismissed but last month Paxton appealed the decision.

Annunciation House “directly facilitates illegal immigration,” the Attorney General’s office declared in a July 15 statement.

The Office of the Attorney General found that Annunciation House “is in a category of its own,” it said, “openly operating in violation of the law without any pretense of trying to comply with the law.”

According to Annunciation House’s in-court admissions, “its employees enter Mexico to retrieve aliens, including aliens who have been denied entry by Border Patrol, to bring them into the United States,” the statement said.

In their own statement, the U.S. bishops assert that “Catholic doctrine distinguishes between persons and their actions.”

“Each person — whether native-born or immigrant, documented or undocumented — is imbued by God with equal dignity. Catholics are compelled by sacred Scripture and Church doctrine to recognize all as brothers and sisters and serve them accordingly,” they declare.

The Church, in fact, “works to alleviate the root causes of forced migration, such as war, persecution, and poverty, so that people can remain in their homelands,” the text reads.

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Allegations that Catholic organizations “are somehow complicit” in the trafficking of children is “completely antithetical to their efforts, which focus on decreasing opportunities for children to be exploited,” the statement says.

In its own statement, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston said it is “simply false” that Catholic Charities is involved in trafficking illegal immigrants or that it actively helps migrants cross the border illegally.

“Catholic Charities plays no role in transporting migrants across the U.S. border,” it said. “We help people who have already entered the country who come to us needing humanitarian assistance.”

“In fact, we have programs designed to help those who have been victimized by human trafficking,” it continued. “We provide legal services, counseling, and food and financial assistance to help them recover from their trauma.”

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