Catholic Bishops Call For Christmas Immigration Pause. White House Says Deportations Will Continue.

The White House said that President Donald Trump’s massive deportation operation will go on as planned after Florida’s Catholic bishops sent in a formal request on Monday, asking for a pause on immigration enforcement during the Christmas season.

Led by Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, the bishops appealed to Trump and Republican Governor Ron DeSantis, arguing that a temporary reprieve would show “decent regard for the humanity” of families.

Archbishop Wenski contended that since the border is secure and high-priority criminals have largely been removed, current “maximum enforcement” operations are now sweeping up industrious, non-criminal workers. He referred to the “climate of fear and anxiety” among both illegal immigrants and their legal neighbors, particularly at facilities like “Alligator Alcatraz” in the Everglades.

While the White House did not address the holiday pause specifically, spokeswoman Abigail Jackson stated, “President Trump was elected based on his promise to the American people to deport criminal illegal aliens. And he’s keeping that promise.”

This clash coincides with a significant leadership shift in the American Catholic Church. Pope Leo XIV recently appointed Bishop Ronald Hicks to replace Cardinal Timothy Dolan as the Archbishop of New York. Cardinal Dolan, a prominent conservative and long-time associate of President Trump, reached the age of 75, which requires him to offer his resignation. While Dolan has occasionally criticized harsh immigration rhetoric, he maintained a friendly relationship with the president, even delivering the invocation at his second inauguration.

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In contrast, the appointment of Bishop Hicks signals a more confrontational stance against the administration’s immigration policies. Hicks, who spent years working with orphans in El Salvador and was formed by the “Latino church,” has been a vocal supporter of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ recent “special message” slamming mass deportations and the “vilification” of migrants. That message was also endorsed by Pope Leo.

Pope Leo XIV — the first American pope — has suggested that supporting the “inhuman treatment of immigrants” may be incompatible with pro-life values. Last month, the pope stated, “I think we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have. If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts, there’s a system of justice.”

By elevating Hicks, the Vatican appears to be strengthening the Church’s opposition to the administration’s enforcement policies.