Pilgrims of Hope: A Pastoral Reflection on Immigration
by Iowa Catholic Conference | August 22, 2025
The Immigration Reality in the United States: A Moral and Human Concern
We again emphasize: While immigration policies must balance humanitarian concerns with national security and public order, such policies must never ignore or insult the fundamental dignity of the human person. It is inconsistent with the claims of justice to employ enforcement tactics that treat all immigrants, especially hardworking, longstanding, and peaceful members of our communities, in the same manner as violent criminals. Bishop Mark Seitz, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, has expressed deep concern over rhetoric that dehumanizes migrants, stating that “the use of sweeping generalizations to denigrate any group, such as describing all undocumented immigrants as ‘criminals’ or ‘invaders,’ to deprive them of protection under the law, is an affront to God, who has created each of us in his own image.”17
Recent executive orders have heightened concerns about the violation of justice and human dignity in immigration enforcement. Policies that restrict humanitarian protections, deny asylum claims, and expand detention measures disproportionately harm the most vulnerable, including families, children, and trafficking victims. The U.S. bishops have voiced particular concern about the open-ended deployment of military assets to enforce civil immigration laws, the prevention of access to asylum, and the proposals to reinterpret birthright citizenship. With our brother bishops, we caution that these measures undermine the moral fabric of a nation built on principles of justice and human rights.18
The Church recognizes the right of nations to regulate immigration, but this right must always be exercised in accord with the precepts of justice, respect for the rule of law, and prudential restraint. Concomitantly, respect for due process is paramount and must be sustained under all sorts of trying circumstances. Longstanding jurisprudence rooted in the Fourteenth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution makes clear that due process is owed to all persons within the country, not just to citizens.
More fundamentally, the right to due process is grounded in the natural law and is inherent to every human person by virtue of her dignity—it is not merely a privilege granted by civil authority. Such a right should never be dismissed for the sake of expediency in pursuit of political objectives. When a society sets aside fundamental rights for some individuals, it risks further erosions, such as the suspension of habeas corpus, that would imperil the freedoms of all.
When immigration policies fail to reflect these collective principles, they subvert the common good and instead create conditions for greater exploitation, suffering, and disorder. Law must never be misused to advance the predominance of the majority at the expense of the poor, the marginalized, and vulnerable communities. Rather, respect for the common good implies that, given their respective capacities and needs, people participate diversely in the life and activities of any given community, and this mutual participation serves not only individual flourishing but the overall well-being of the entire community.
The Iowa Catholic Conference has previously emphasized that immigration policies must reflect our shared moral commitment to human dignity and family unity, prioritizing compassion over exclusion.19 In that vein, the bishops have affirmed their nonpartisan commitment to work with lawmakers of every stripe to advance just, responsible immigration policies. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has engaged previous and current presidential administrations and Congress to advocate for a system that is both effective and humane, protecting immigrants, refugees, and the poor as part of the Church’s broader mission to uphold the dignity of all life.20
As Catholics, we must resist narratives that reduce immigrants to political problems or pawns and instead recognize them as our brothers and sisters in Christ. Our late Holy Father, Pope Francis, cautions against attitudes that, in practice, treat migrants as “less worthy, less important, less human.”21 The Church’s mission is to proclaim the Gospel, defend the dignity of the marginalized and most vulnerable among us, and cooperate with the grace of Jesus Christ to usher in the Kingdom of God while seeking the salvation of souls. In every season of life, the words of Jesus in Matthew 25 remain our polestar: “I was a stranger and you welcomed me” (Matthew 25:35).