World Immigration News

History confirms that for US bishops, immigration isn’t political

Release Date: 2024-12-01
Media: Crux Catholic Media
Summary: The text discusses the U.S. Catholic bishops' support for immigrants, highlighting its historical and practical roots. After Donald Trump’s re-election in 2024, Archbishop Timothy Broglio, head of the bishops’ conference, emphasized the need to see Christ in immigrants and called for compassion and immigration reform. Critics have interpreted this stance as left-leaning or anti-Trump, but history shows that supporting immigrants has long been a consistent position of the Catholic hierarchy, irrespective of political alignment.

Examples include Bishop Michael Gallagher in Detroit in the 1920s, who supported Maltese immigrants, Cardinal Francis Spellman in New York in the 1940s, who welcomed Puerto Rican migrants, and Archbishop Robert Lucey in San Antonio in the 1950s, who defended Mexican workers' rights. These bishops, often conservative in other areas, supported immigrants due to their shared Catholic faith and the practical benefits of bolstering Catholic communities.

The text also notes that Hispanic immigration has helped maintain Catholicism's share of the U.S. population despite a high rate of Catholics leaving the faith. Unlike Europe, where Muslim immigrants dominate migration flows, most U.S. immigrants are Catholic, further fueling the bishops’ commitment to immigration issues. Thus, the bishops’ pro-immigrant stance reflects both faith-based and pragmatic concerns, transcending partisan politics.
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