Florida Catholic bishops warn immigration enforcement is spreading fear among Latino families during the Christmas season
Florida’s Catholic bishops appealed directly to President Donald Trump this week to temporarily pause immigration enforcement during the Christmas season, warning that aggressive arrest operations are fueling fear among immigrant families—many of them Latino—and ensnaring people who pose no public safety threat.
The White House rejected the request, signaling that federal immigration operations will continue uninterrupted through the holidays.
The appeal was issued Monday by Miami Archbishop Thomas Wenski, one of the nation’s most prominent Catholic voices on immigration, and was signed by seven other members of the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops, giving the request rare statewide religious backing.
In his letter to the president, Wenski acknowledged the administration’s claim that border security has improved and that violent offenders have been prioritized.
“The border has been secured. The initial work of identifying and removing dangerous criminals has been accomplished to a great degree,” Wenski wrote. “At this point, the maximum enforcement approach of treating irregular immigrants en masse means that now many of these arrest operations inevitably sweep up numbers of people who are not criminals but just here to work.”
Fear Beyond the Undocumented
Wenski warned that the consequences extend far beyond undocumented migrants themselves.
“A climate of fear and anxiety is infecting not only the irregular migrant,” he wrote, “but also family members and neighbors who are legally in the country.”
For Latino communities across Florida—many of them mixed-status households—the warning reflects a lived reality: parents afraid to drive to work, children anxious about school drop-offs, and families avoiding churches and clinics during what is traditionally a season of gathering and worship.
Citing those conditions, the bishops asked for a limited, symbolic pause in apprehensions and round-ups during Christmas.
“Such a pause would show a decent regard for the humanity of these families,” Wenski wrote.
White House: No Holiday Exception
The White House dismissed the request.
In a brief emailed response, spokesperson Abigail Jackson did not address the religious or humanitarian appeal, nor the timing of the holidays.
“President Trump was elected based on his promise to the American people to deport criminal illegal aliens,” Jackson wrote. “And he’s keeping that promise.”
A Bishop With a Track Record
Wenski’s intervention carries weight beyond a single letter. He has long been an outspoken advocate for immigrant families and humane enforcement, particularly in Florida, a state with one of the largest Latino and immigrant populations in the country.
In September, Wenski joined other Catholic leaders at Georgetown University to criticize the administration’s immigration policies, arguing that mass enforcement tactics have torn families apart, disrupted parish life, and eroded trust between immigrant communities and public institutions.
He has also repeatedly emphasized the economic contributions of immigrants—many of them Latino—to Florida and the nation.
“If you ask people in agriculture, the service industry, health care, construction, they’ll tell you that some of their best workers are immigrants,” Wenski said. “Enforcement is always going to be part of any immigration policy, but we have to rationalize it and humanize it.”
Witness at the Detention Centers
Wenski’s advocacy is not only rhetorical. He has personally visited immigration detention facilities, including a remote center in the Florida Everglades that detainees have grimly nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
Through the “Knights on Bikes” ministry, an initiative of the Knights of Columbus, Wenski has prayed outside detention centers with volunteers, drawing attention to the spiritual and human toll of prolonged confinement. He later received permission to celebrate Mass inside the Everglades facility.
“The fact that we invite these detainees to pray, even in this very dehumanizing situation, is a way of emphasizing and invoking their dignity,” he said.
As immigration enforcement continues through the holidays, Florida’s Catholic bishops say their appeal is not about politics, but about conscience—especially at Christmas, a season centered on family, refuge, and human dignity.
For Latino and immigrant families watching closely, the decision to press ahead without pause reinforces a painful message: even during the holiest days of the year, fear remains part of daily life.
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