The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) is not onboard with the Biden administration's recent crackdown on illegal immigration at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Chairman of the USCCB's Committee on Migration Bishop Mark Seitz, of El Paso, Texas, made a statement on behalf of the organization on Friday, a day after President Joe Biden announced more stringent immigration rules.
"We urge the administration to reverse its present course in favor of humane solutions that recognize the God-given dignity of migrants and provide equitable access to immigration and humanitarian pathways," the statement read.
On Thursday, the president announced that the federal government will increase enforcement efforts at the southern border and begin to expel Cubans, Nicaraguans, and Haitians who attempt to cross into the country illegally.
Under the new rules, up to 30,000 people will be allowed to enter the U.S. each month from Cuba, Nicaragua, and Haiti, and migrants will be permitted to stay for two years and receive work authorization if they can pass security checks and have an eligible sponsor.
Bishop Seitz said the bishops' opposition to the new rules is based on their belief that migrants have a right to flee violence and seek asylum in the United States.
"We welcome the announcement of new legal pathways to the United States, but it is difficult for us to consider this progress when these same pathways are contingent on preventing those forced to flee their native land from availing themselves of the right to seek asylum at our border," the USCCB statement said.
"Under this approach, many of the most vulnerable will be excluded from relief and subjected to dangerous circumstances, contravening U.S. and international refugee law, as well as Catholic social teaching," Seitz wrote. "This is a drastic departure from the administration's promise to create a 'fair, orderly, and humane' immigration system and will only exacerbate challenges on both sides of our border."
In addition to announcing the changes to his immigration policy, Biden issued a warning to those considering coming to the U.S.
"Do not just show up at the border," the president said Thursday. "Stay where you are and apply legally from there."
The changes "aren't going to fix our entire immigration system, but they can help us a good deal in better managing what is a difficult challenge," Biden added.
Migrants who fail to apply for asylum from another country through which they traveled en route to the U.S. would not be eligible to seek asylum in the U.S. for five years, according to The New York Times.
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