BREAKING 300 Catholic Leaders Including 15 Bishops Call on Senate to Reject ICE Funding Unless it is Reformed - FULL TEXT Letter

In January 2026, a coalition of 300 Catholic leaders, including 15 bishops, issued a formal appeal to the U.S. Senate urging lawmakers to reject renewed or expanded funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE).  The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill scheduled for a vote this week. The bill passed to fund ICE in a 71-29 vote. It will now head to the House, which is not due back until Monday. That means the government could be in a partial shutdown temporarily over the weekend until they pass it.

Notable among the bishops are  Archbishop John C. Wester of Santa, Archbishop of Seattle Paul D. Etienne, Bishop of Yakima Joseph Tyson, Bishop of San Diego Michael Pham, Bishop-elect of Monterey Ramon Bejarano, Bishop of El Paso Mark Seitz, Bishop of Honolulu Larry Silva, Bishop of Lexington John Stowe, and others.

The letter, which reflects a sharp escalation in the Catholic Church's opposition to current immigration enforcement tactics, highlights several urgent moral and humanitarian concerns:

• Opposition to Mass Deportation and Family Separation: The leaders strongly oppose the DHS appropriations bill because current enforcement practices lead to "indiscriminate mass deportation" and the sudden separation of parents from children, which they argue violates the fundamental principle that the family is the basic unit of society.

• Prioritization of Human Dignity over Detention: The letter calls for a shift in policy that prioritizes alternatives to detention and ensures all individuals are treated with respect. They argue that a budget focused solely on removal lacks the necessary safeguards for due process and accountability.

• A Call for Compassionate Legislation: Drawing on recent bipartisan successes in housing and healthcare, the leaders urge Congress to apply that same commitment to the "common good" to immigration. They advocate for policies guided by the inherent dignity of every person rather than the "disproportionate use of force."

• FULL TEXT Letter: 

Dear Members of the United States Senate,

We write to you as Catholic leaders entrusted with the pastoral care of families and communities across our nation. We do so to express our deep opposition to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appropriations bill scheduled for a vote this week. Our concerns are grounded in the message issued by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops in November, which addressed the vilification of immigrants and expressed clear opposition to indiscriminate mass deportation.

Catholic social teaching affirms that the family is the basic unit of society, willed by God and deserving of protection in law and public policy. Recent immigration enforcement actions carried out under DHS authority have heightened our concern that this fundamental principle is being compromised. In many communities, enforcement practices have resulted in families being separated with little warning or recourse.

Parents have been detained without the opportunity to prepare their children. Spouses have lost partners suddenly and without clarity about what will follow. These realities undermine family stability and inflict lasting harm, particularly on children.

For these reasons, we cannot support legislation that expands or sustains enforcement practices without adequately addressing their consequences for families and communities. A DHS budget that prioritizes detention and removal - while lacking strong safeguards for family unity, due process, and accountability risks entrenching harm rather than promoting justice or public safety.

Recent responses to peaceful protest and public dissent have only intensified concerns about the disproportionate use of force and the erosion of civil liberties.

We urge Senators not to advance funding for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection in the current appropriations package.

Congress has demonstrated through bipartisan collaboration on things like affordable housing and access to essential medications - that it is capable of legislating in ways that strengthen families and serve the common good.

Immigration policy should be guided by the same commitment to human dignity and social stability. In particular, we ask that immigration and enforcement policy be shaped by the following principles:

- that family unity remains a guiding principle of immigration and enforcement policy;

-that all persons be treated with respect and care in recognition of their inherent dignity;

-that alternatives to detention be prioritized whenever possible;

-and that strong oversight, accountability, and restorative mechanisms be in place to prevent abuses that devastate families and communities.

Our faith calls us to recognize Christ in every person; this includes the migrant, the refugee, and the child who bears the pain of separation. To disregard that suffering is to turn away from a core moral responsibility we share as a society.

We pray that your deliberations will be guided by wisdom and restraint. May your decisions reflect a genuine commitment to protecting families, upholding human dignity, and serving the common good.

Respectfully,

Most Rev. John C. Wester, Archbishop of Santa Fe Most Rev. Paul D. Etienne, Archbishop of Seattle

Most Rev. Joseph Tyson, Bishop of Yakima

Most Rev. Michael Pham, Bishop of San Diego

Most Rev. Ramon Bejarano, Bishop-elect of Monterey Most Rev. Mark Seitz, Bishop of El Paso

Most. Rev. Larry Silva, Bishop of Honolulu

Most Rev. John Stowe, Bishop of Lexington

Most Rev. Felipe Pulido, Auxiliary Bishop of San Diego

Most. Rev. Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, Auxiliary Bishop of Washington, DC

Most Rev. Pedro Bismarck Chau, Auxiliary Bishop of Newark Most Rev. Elias Lorenzo, OSB, Auxiliary Bishop of Newark Most Rev. Michael Saporito, Auxiliary Bishop of Newark

Most Rev. Andres Ligot, JCD, Auxiliary Bishop of San Jose

Most Rev. John Ricard, SSJ, Superior General, Saint Joseph's Society of the Sacred Heart (The Josephites)

V. Rev. Brian Paulson, SJ, President, Jesuit Conference of Canada and the United States

V. Rev. Sean Carroll, SJ, Provincial, Jesuits West Province

V. Rev. Karl J. Kiser, S.J., Provincial, USA Midwest Province of Jesuits

V. Rev. Joseph M. O'Keefe, SJ, Provincial, Jesuits East

V. Rev. Thomas P. Greene, S.J., Provincial, USA Central and Southern

Fr. Scott Santarosa, SJ, Pastor, Our Lady of Guadalupe, San Diego, California

Fr. Maurice Nutt, Black Catholic Theological Symposium

Sr. Bethany Welch, SSJ, U.S. Federation of Sisters of Saint Joseph

Fr. Greg Boyle, S.J., Homeboy Industries

Fr. Albert Utzig, Regional Director of Columban Fathers, Omaha, NE

Fr. Stephen Newton, CSC, Association of US Catholic Priests, Notre Dame, IN

Fr. Chris Kellerman, SJ, Secretary of Justice and Ecology, Jesuit Conf. of Canada & the US

Sr. Bridget Bearss, RSCJ, Leadership Conference of Women Religious

Sandra Coles-Bell, Executive Director, National Black Sisters Conference, Washington, DC Sister Eileen Marnien, SSJ, Congregational President, Sisters of Saint Joseph of Philadelphia

Daniel Misleh, Exec Dir, Catholic Climate Covenant, Washington, DC

Cecilia Flores, Exec Dir, Catholic Volunteer Network, Frisco TX

and others not included here.