Vice President JD Vance blasts U.S. Catholic bishops condemning ICE entering churches and schools
Vice President JD Vance blasted the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops condemnation of the Trump administration's recent actions on immigration, saying the church might be more concerned with "their bottom line" than humanitarian causes.
On "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan," the Vice President, in his first interview since being sworn in on Jan. 20, said several orders targeting immigration were enacted under President Trump to fulfill the promises made during his campaign.
Hours after the inauguration, the Trump administration revoked a policy that prohibited arrests by U.S. immigration agents at or near schools, places of worship and other places deemed to be "sensitive locations."
Vance said Saturday that the order — along with several other immigration actions — empowers "law enforcement to enforce the law everywhere, to protect Americans." The Trump administration issued roughly 200 executive actions during their first days in office, including denying birthright citizenship to the children of unauthorized immigrants and temporary visa holders — which has several legal challenges. His other executive actions, including the ICE order, could face legal challenges.
However, it was the church and schools order that drew ire from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, Mark. J Seitz, migration committee chairman U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, told CBS News "Many of these policies we see going against the basic tenets of our faith."
Vance, a devout Catholic, sharply rebuked the bishops' condemnation. "Because as a practicing Catholic, I was actually heartbroken by that statement," he said.
Vance told Brennan the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops "has, frankly, not been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement that the American people voted for."
Brennan asked Vance if he specifically supported immigration agents going into churches and schools, and "conducting a raid or enforcement action in a church service, at a school."
Vance said he "supports us doing law enforcement against violent criminals, whether they're illegal immigrants or anybody else, in a way that keeps us safe."
Vance asked if the bishops were more worried about their bottom line, noting they received over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants.
He said he hopes "as a devout Catholic, that they'll do better."
In response, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said Sunday in a statement, "Faithful to the teaching of Jesus Christ, the Catholic Church has a long history of serving refugees."
"In 1980, the bishops of the United States began partnering with the federal government to carry out this service when Congress created the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program (USRAP). Every person resettled through USRAP is vetted and approved for the program by the federal government while outside of the United States," the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said. "In our agreements with the government, the USCCB receives funds to do this work; however, these funds are not sufficient to cover the entire cost of these programs. Nonetheless, this remains a work of mercy and ministry of the Church."
Many resettlement refugee agencies are faith-based groups. On Friday many of these groups were also told some of their federal funding would be suspended days after Trump enacted an indefinite pause on admissions of refugees to the United States.
Trump also enacted orders to enlist the military's aid in border enforcement through an emergency declaration, expand detention sites to hold deportees and increase agreements with local law enforcement authorities.
