California Catholic bishops mark solidarity with migrants on Guadalupe feast

California’s Catholic bishops have spoken out in support of the nation’s migrant communities, with inauguration day nearing for a second Trump administration that has threatened mass deportations.

The 16-member state episcopal conference, effectively a lobbying arm, issued the statement on Thursday, Dec. 12, the feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe—a Mexican devotion seen by many Latino groups as a marker of their religious and cultural identity.

“We, the Catholic bishops of California, as shepherds of the flock of Christ, have seen and heard the growing distress among you, our migrant brothers and sisters,” they wrote.

“We want to assure you that we, and our mother, the Church, stand with you in these days of anxiety. You are not alone.”

The statement came the same day as a national message on the topic from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), of which California’s roughly 30 active and retired prelates are members.

Both statements referred indirectly to Republican threats of migrant expulsion—opting not to mention specific individuals or a political party, instead emphasizing a spiritual call to solidarity. Of note is that a dozen of the U.S. Church’s more than 30 active immigrant bishops currently serve in California.

The Mexican-born Archbishop José H. Gómez of Los Angeles, despite his notable conservative views on various issues, was one Catholic prelate who responded to the first election of Donald Trump with stark concern in 2016. At the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels, just days before his election as USCCB vice president, he held a prayer service with immigrants and responded to the GOP president’s previous threats of deportation.

“Tonight in America children are afraid; men and women are worried and anxious, thinking about where they can run and hide. This is happening tonight, in America,” he said to a crowd that included then-Mayor Eric Garcetti.

The California bishops’ statement this week noted a “broken” American immigration system and “disarray” at the U.S.-Mexico border, where millions have poured in at spiking numbers over the past decade. Though many are undocumented, vitriol has festered concerning even those with Temporary Protected Status (TPS).

One such group, Black immigrants who have fled violence and corruption in Haiti, are an ongoing target for many GOP electeds as well as the rank and file. Leading the charge has been a Catholic in Vice President-elect JD Vance, who promotes conspiracy theories concerning the Caribbean community in his native Ohio. 

Trump has announced focused sweeps there to follow his inauguration, and his border czar appointee—a Catholic in Tom Homan—has suggested he will advocate for an end to TPS for Haitians and others.

“The sinful ideologies of racism and xenophobia are antithetical to these core teachings of our Christian faith,” reads this week’s USCCB statement, authored by its migration, pro-life, and anti-racism committee chairs—the latter of whom, Auxiliary Bishop Emeritus Joseph N. Perry of Chicago, is African-American.

“Throughout the life of our nation, we have seen at times unacceptable demonstrations of prejudice and hatred, including in recent days mass communications targeting people of color and disparaging comments about immigrant communities.”

Shortly after the November election, the USCCB issued a far more measured statement from a group led by its president, Archbishop Timothy Broglio of the Military Services— a conservative who recently touted Trump’s Catholic support as a vote for human dignity.

Co-authors on that document included the USCCB migration chairman Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, and Catholic Legal Immigration Network chairman Bishop Jaime Soto of Sacramento.

“Compelled by the Gospel of Jesus Christ and recognizing the inherent dignity of each person as a child of God, we stand in firm solidarity with our immigrant brothers and sisters who live and labor in these United States,” they wrote.

“We need a system that provides permanent relief for childhood arrivals, helps families stay together, and welcomes refugees.”

Nate Tinner-Williams is co-founder and editor of Black Catholic Messenger.

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