OAN Staff Blake Wolf
9:08 AM – Friday, December 12, 2025
Border czar Tom Homan pushed back on the Catholic Church for condemning the Trump administration’s mass deportation campaign, calling on church leaders to spend a day with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents to see “why illegal immigration is not a victimless crime.”
On Wednesday, the U.S. Conference of Bishops released a statement criticizing the Trump administration’s “indiscriminate mass deportation of people.”
“We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement,” the Bishops wrote in a statement. “We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants.”
The Bishops also expressed concern over the “conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care,” adding that “human dignity and national security are not in conflict.”
Homan responded to the statement, declaring: “The Catholic Church is wrong.”
“I’m a lifelong Catholic, but I’m saying it not only as a border czar, but I’m also saying this as a Catholic,” he stated. “A secure border saves lives. We’re going to enforce the law and by doing that we save a lot of lives.”
“As President Trump promised on day one, we’re going to enforce immigration law,” Homan continued. “That’s what he was voted into office to do, and that’s what we’re doing. We’re going to keep this promise to the American people.”
“We’re going to prioritize public safety threats and national security threats,” he noted. “The majority of people we arrest … have a criminal history. But also, like I’ve said from day one, if you’re in the country illegally, you’re not off the table.”
Homan went on to invite Catholic leadership to speak with him, and suggested that they go and talk to the parents of American citizens who were “killed by someone that wasn’t supposed to be here.”
“When you come across the border illegally, not only is it a crime, but you’re cheating the system,” he explained. “There are millions of people, millions that are standing in line, taking their test, doing the background investigation, paying their fees to be part of the greatest nation on Earth.”
“The most humane thing you can do is enforce the law, secure the border, because it saves lives. The Catholic Church should support keeping the community safe again. But I’m saying this, if you’re in the country legally, it’s not okay. Illegal migration is not a victimless crime. I wish Catholic leadership would go with me. Take a border trip with me,” Homan said. “Look at some of the investigations I do. Wear my shoes … You may not agree with me 100% in the end, but you will certainly understand the importance of border security.”
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