USCCB: prelate criticizes President Trump’s new executive order on refugees
March 07, 2017
Bishop Joe Vásquez of Austin, chairman of the US bishops’ Committee on Migration, took issue with President Donald Trump’s new executive order protecting the nation from foreign terrorist entry into the United States.
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“We remain deeply troubled by the human consequences of the revised executive order on refugee admissions and the travel ban,” the prelate said in a statement. He continued:
Today, more than 65 million people around the world are forcibly displaced from their homes. Given this extraordinary level of suffering, the US Catholic Bishops reaffirm their support for, and efforts to protect, all who flee persecution and violence, as just one part of the perennial and global work of the Church in defense of vulnerable persons. Resettling only 50,000 refugees a year, down from 110,000, does not reflect the need, our compassion, and our capacity as a nation.
Bishop Vásquez’s remarks were echoed by leaders of Catholic Relief Services and Catholic Charities USA.
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Further information:
- U.S. Bishops Chairman on Migration says New Executive Order Still Leaves Many Innocent Lives at Risk (USCCB)
- Initial reaction to refugee ban ranges from concern to opposition (CNS)
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Posted by: brenda22890 -
Mar. 08, 2017 5:34 AM ET USA
I'm all for compassion, however, Bishop Vasquez believes we have the capacity to "absorb" 110,000+ refugees a year. He offers no solution to the joblessness of thousands of Americans, nor where the funds will come from to support these people once here. Welfare needs funding and has no source if there is no one working. Compassion isn't compassion if you're just shifting people around from one unsupportable circumstance to another.
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Posted by: rickt26170 -
Mar. 08, 2017 5:22 AM ET USA
This is a hard problem. Bishops should have empathy for the poor, the naked and the downtrodden. But unless the Church decides to clearly propose open borders or very open sanctuary laws - disasters in nations that have tried them - we should remember that controlling our borders is the heart of sovereignty. And Catholics are getting things from Trump denied earlier and more is likely. Do we really oppose Trump strongly on a central issue to him? Diplomacy maybe?
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Posted by: Randal Mandock -
Mar. 07, 2017 10:11 PM ET USA
As Middle Eastern Catholic and Orthodox prelates forcefully point out, the refugees would rather return home than try to assimilate into a foreign culture. They are not migrating by choice but out of desperation. Perhaps if we offered our merciful military assistance with absolutely no strings attached, purely out of a desire to aid our suffering brethren--no intent about national interest, economic exploitation, or indoctrination--the host countries would welcome our outreach and fight with us.
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Posted by: space15796 -
Mar. 07, 2017 7:47 PM ET USA
Allowing this influx of illegals has cost many innocent American lives, because our government has failed in its first mandate to keep us safe. Don't American lives matter, too?
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Posted by: unum -
Mar. 07, 2017 6:01 PM ET USA
We would need to hear the Bishop Joe Vásquez, CRS, and Catholic Charities USA plans for vetting the refugees and "Americanizing" their culture before we comment on their remarks. They could also give us their plans for stopping the flow of drugs from Mexico along with the undocumented immigrants they defend. Heroin deaths are at an all time high in our country. The Church must take into account the obligation of a country to care about its culture and its security.
