Vice President JD Vance slammed the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) after it criticized President Trump’s deportation policies. Vance said the bishops should “look in the mirror” at their own attitudes to immigration in the US.
The Vice President, who is himself a Catholic, was appearing on CBS News’ Face the Nation on Sunday when he was asked about a statement by the USCCB criticizing the President’s executive orders on immigration.
In particular, the statement criticizes guidance that immigration officials can enter schools and churches to arrest illegal immigrants.
“[N]on-emergency immigration enforcement in schools, places of worship, social service agencies, healthcare facilities, or other sensitive settings where people receive essential services would be contrary to the common good,” the USCCB statement read.
In response, the Vice President said he was “heartbroken” by the statement.
“I think that the US Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns?” Vance asked.
“Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?”
He continued, “If the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops is worried about the ‘humanitarian costs’ of enforcing immigration law, let them talk about the children who were sex-trafficked because of the wide open border. Let them talk about people like Laken Riley who were brutally murdered.”
According to its website, the USCCB helps to resettle around 18% of the refugees that arrive in the US every year.