Story
Sep 29, 2026
Catholic leaders press for targeted deportations as US enforcement stays broad
Catholic leaders argue that immigration enforcement has swept too broadly into families and long-settled communities, while enforcement advocates and the US government maintain that immigration law and border security require removals beyond only those convicted of serious crimes.
The detention of Liam Ramos, a 5-year-old boy arrested with his father in Minneapolis, has sharpened a dispute over whom US immigration enforcement should target. Catholic leaders portray the case as evidence that broad enforcement is harming children and families; federal officials and immigration-policy advocates reject an approach limited to people with serious criminal convictions.
Cardinal Robert McElroy of Washington said Americans had watched the suffering of undocumented people be “purposely and strategically amplified” and largely “simply passed by.” He said Jesus “weeps for our whole nation” over children detained and separated from their families.1 A federal judge who ordered Liam’s release criticized what he described as a poorly conceived pursuit of daily deportation quotas that could traumatize children.1
Bishop Joseph Tyson of Yakima, Washington, proposed what he called “surgical deportation” — concentrating removals on people with serious criminal records rather than carrying out “indiscriminate” deportations of immigrants who have lived in the country for years. Tyson said data he obtained indicated that fewer than a quarter of people detained by ICE in Yakima County from March through August had criminal histories.1
That distinction is central to the opposing view. Andrew Arthur of the Center for Immigration Studies said immigration laws, like other laws, “have no meaning unless they are enforced.” He argued that internal enforcement and deportation are necessary for border security even when a person has not committed another offense, and said officials should not wait for a serious crime to occur before acting.1
The Department of Homeland Security has likewise rejected reports that ICE would stop arresting people whose only violation was unlawful entry or presence. Its position is that “anyone” in the country illegally may be arrested and deported.1 The same divide extends to temporary protected status: church leaders criticize its termination for nearly 1 million people, while the administration says the temporary humanitarian program had been misused and should end where conditions have improved.1