Chicago Cardinal: the Church stands with migrants

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Source: Archdiocese of Chicago

Chicago is being particularly hard hit by Donald Trump's crackdown on migrants. More than 3,000 people have been arrested in ICE raids over the past month.

In response, Cardinal Blaise Cupich, Archbishop of Chicago issued the following statement last Tuesday:

My dear brothers and sisters, today I speak to you as your shepherd, but also as a fellow pilgrim who shares the pain of many of our immigrant communities.

Families are being torn apart. Children are left in fear, and communities are shaken by immigration raids and detentions. These actions wound the soul of our city. Let me be clear. The church stands with migrants.

We stand with the mother who crosses borders to feed her children. We stand with the father who labours in silence to build a better future. We stand with the young person who dreams of safety and a better future. Our parishes and schools will not turn away those who seek comfort, and we will not be silent when dignity is denied in the enforcement of the law. It is essential that we respect the dignity of every human being.

Now I want to say something directly to those immigrants without documents. Most of you have been here for years. You have worked hard. You have raised families. You have contributed to this nation. You have earned our respect. As the Archbishop of Chicago, I will insist that you be treated with dignity. Americans should not forget that we all come from immigrant families.

You are our brothers and sisters. We stand with you.

God bless you all.

Chicago-born Pope Leo XIV has made compassionate and humane treatment of migrants a centrepiece of his papacy and urged American Catholics to speak out forcefully on behalf of those being targeted.

In his first apostolic exhortation, Dilexi ti, Pope Leo writes: "The Church, like a mother, accompanies those who are walking," wrote Leo in his first major document. "Where the world sees threats, she sees children; where walls are built, she builds bridges. She knows that her proclamation of the Gospel is credible only when it is translated into gestures of closeness and welcome. And she knows that in every rejected migrant, it is Christ himself who knocks at the door of the community."