Los Angeles Archbishop Gómez: Trump’s deportation policy ‘ruining people’s lives’

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Nov 21, 2025 / 16:50 pm

Archbishop José H. Gómez of the Archdiocese of Los Angeles criticized President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts and urged lawmakers to find a bipartisan solution to fix the American immigration system.

“My brother bishops and I have seen how this deportation policy is ruining people’s lives and breaking up families; in our parishes and neighborhoods, people are now living in constant fear,” Gómez said in a Nov. 18 op-ed published in Angelus News.

Gómez — who serves the largest archdiocese in the country and a large Hispanic population — referenced the Nov. 12 special message from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), which conveyed unified opposition to “the indiscriminate mass deportation of people,” approved by 96% of bishops who voted.

In his op-ed, Gómez accused the Trump administration of carrying out deportations “in harsh and indiscriminate ways.” He criticized alleged quotas for arrests, raids on workplaces, limits to foreign worker visas and other legal pathways to the United States, and the revocation of some immigrants’ “temporary protected legal status.”

“Agents are not only picking up violent criminals, they are also detaining mothers and fathers, even grandparents, hardworking men and women who are pillars in our parishes and communities,” the archbishop said.

Gómez expressed concerns about a lack of due process and detention centers being “not safe or clean.” The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has repeatedly denied these claims, with a spokesperson telling CNA on Nov. 17 that the administration “cares deeply about the intrinsic human dignity of everybody it comes in contact with.”

The archbishop also expressed concern about detainees being denied Communion, such as has occurred at a facility in Broadview, Illinois. A DHS spokesperson told CNA that the request in Broadview could not be accommodated because of safety concerns and the manner of clergy’s requests to enter.

“And this is what really could have avoided this entire kerfuffle on the front is if people just reached out ahead of time and did a lot of these things ahead of time, instead of, in one situation, there was one retired priest who simply just showed up in a large mob of people and demanded to be let in,” said Nate Madden, principal deputy assistant secretary for communications at DHS.

Father Larry Dowling, a retired pastor and a member of the Coalition for Spiritual and Public Life’s clergy council, led a Eucharistic procession to Broadview on Oct. 11 where participants sang and prayed the rosary in English and Spanish. After multiple denials following formal requests and attempts to follow DHS’ admittance policy, Catholic clergy have sued to exercise their right to freedom of religion and distribute Communion at the facility.

The DHS said pastoral care is available at all long-term detention facilities, but that Broadview is a short-term processing facility designed for 12-hour stays. Detainees have alleged confinement there for nearly a week.

The administration says it has deported more than 500,000 people and that at least 1.6 million more have self-deported, according to DHS. A department spokesperson said on Oct. 27: “This is just the beginning.”

Gómez acknowledged “our government has the right to enforce its immigration laws,” which includes deportations. Yet, he said, “deportation is not the only way to hold people accountable for entering the country wrongfully.”

Gómez encouraged the Trump administration to “pause” mass deportation efforts and “refocus its enforcement efforts on those who are truly a threat to public safety and order.” He asked the administration to work with Congress to pass immigration reform legislation.

Gómez: ‘There is still a way forward’

The archbishop acknowledged that anxiety about large-scale migration into the United States and former President Joe Biden’s “loose border enforcement policies” partly resulted in Americans electing Trump in 2024.

Gómez said “growing anxiety and fears about how the global economy is reshaping local economies and communities” and people seeing immigrants as “threats to their livelihoods” also factored into election results.

Although he said he understands “the popular anger about uncontrolled borders and large numbers of undocumented people in our country,” he said Trump’s policies are “no way to defend the rule of law or the sovereignty of our great nation.”

The archbishop said it’s true that people who entered the country illegally “have responsibility for their actions,” but said the system has been broken for more than 40 years. He said many “came with the implied understanding that the authorities would look the other way because businesses needed their labor.”

“Politicians, business leaders, and activist groups have long exploited this issue for their own advantage,” Gómez said. “That is why the problem persists.”

The archbishop said “there is still a way forward” on immigration. He said solutions could include holding people accountable in some way while also providing people with a pathway for legal status.

“Millions of undocumented men and women in this country have no criminal record and have been living and working here for decades,” he said. “These immigrants own homes, they run businesses, or work in jobs our society needs; they have children and grandchildren; they are good neighbors and faithful parishioners.”

“Surely a great nation can find a generous solution for these people — to hold them accountable for breaking our laws, but also to provide them with a pathway to a permanent legal status,” Gómez said.

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