On October 3rd, members of Pax Christi USA, along with Pax Christi Metro DC-Baltimore, the Dorothy Day Catholic Worker, Franciscan Action Network, Congregation Action Network, Sisters of Mercy of the Americas, the Quixote Center and other groups, gathered for a solemn prayer vigil outside the national headquarters of the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency (ICE) in Washington, DC to decry the Trump Administration’s policy of terror against immigrants. Over 50 people were in attendance. https://paxchristiusa.org/2025/10/11/prayer-vigil-held-in-front-of-ice-headquarters/
And on October 22nd, a similar prayer vigil was held outside of ICE headquarters by the DC-based Catholic Coalition, which is affiliated with the nationwide “One Church, One Family: Catholic Public Witness for Immigrants” initiative that had been organized in response to the Trump administration’s continuing crackdown on immigration. Over 30 people attended this vigil.
During both vigils, I had the opportunity to offer a reflection I wrote invoking the lifegiving witness of St. Oscar Romeo. The main focus of the reflection is an adaptation of Archbishop Romero’s appeal that he made to Salvadoran soldiers and police to stop killing and repressing their fellow Salvadorans, and how it relates to the present immigration policy of terror and those carrying it out.
St. Oscar Romero, martyred Archbishop of San Salvador, declared: “A church that doesn’t provoke any crises, a gospel that doesn’t unsettle, a word of God that doesn’t get under anyone’s skin, a word of God that doesn’t touch the real sin of the society in which it is being proclaimed — what gospel is that?”
On March 23, 1980, the day before he was assassinated while celebrating the Eucharist, Archbishop Romero made the following appeal in his Sunday Mass homily:
“I would like to make a special appeal to the men of the army, and specifically to the ranks of the National Guard, the police and the military. Brothers, you come from our own people. You are killing your own brother peasants when any human order to kill must be subordinate to the law of God which says, “Thou shalt not kill.” No soldier is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God. No one has to obey an immoral law. It is high time you recovered your consciences and obeyed your consciences rather than a sinful order. The Church, the defender of the rights of God, of the law of God, of human dignity, of the person, cannot remain silent before such an abomination. We want the government to face the fact that reforms are valueless if they are to be carried out at the cost of so much blood. In the name of God, in the name of this suffering people whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, I implore you, I beg you, I order you in the name of God: stop the repression.”
We thank God for the exemplary Gospel witness of St. Romero. Today, followers of Jesus need to heed St. Romero’s admonition regarding how to respond to state-sanctioned violence and injustice. A similar appeal, like the one St. Romero issued, must be made by more church leaders and people of faith to those responsible for the dehumanizing policy of terror now directed at immigrants.
“We are all created in God’s image and all life is sacred. God’s love knows no borders. As followers of Jesus, we are mindful that Jesus was born as a migrant and exiled as a refugee. As people of faith, as descendants of immigrants ourselves, we are called to love and welcome our neighbor, not to arrest, detain and deport them. When a human order to oppress or harm another human is given, Christians and people of faith must be subordinate to God’s law of love. No ICE agent is obliged to obey an order contrary to the law of God. No one has to obey an immoral law. It is high time for those carrying out the current unjust immigration policy to obey their consciences rather than a sinful order. As people of faith, who believe that God’s law supersedes human law, and that the dignity of every person must be respected, we cannot remain silent as our immigrant sisters and brothers are targeted and criminalized, unjustly detained, imprisoned and deported, and separated from their families. In the name of God, in the name of all those who live in fear and are detained, and whose cries rise to heaven more loudly each day, we implore all political leaders overseeing immigration policy and ICE agents: Stop the raids of immigrants! Stop the repression! Release all those held captive and reunite families that have been separated!”
Following this appeal, a prayer I compiled was offered.
“Loving God, we remember all immigrants and refugees, past and present, who have been crucified to a cross of exploitation, racism, oppression and war. We remember, too, those who have been driven from their homes and have died crossing the Mexico-U.S. border. O God, help us to learn to love and welcome the immigrants in this land. Give us the courage to stand for justice for all immigrants. Give us the courage to speak out and expose how our country’s policies of globalization and free trade and military intervention have driven people to leave their countries and have torn families apart. Help us to take down the walls of division and fear that create physical walls of separation on our border. Teach us the words of love you would have us speak as we work for a just immigration policy in this land.”
Pope Leo, U.S. Catholic Prelates, including Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, head of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Committee on Migration, Bishop John Stowe, Cardinal Robert McElroy, Archbishop Thomas Wenski, Bishop Michael Pham, and Auxiliary Bishop Evelio-Menjivar–Ayala, as well as other religious leaders from different denominations and faith leaders, have staunchly defended the rights of immigrants and spoken out against the government’s inhuman immigration crackdown.
Bishop Menjivar, of Washington, DC, who came to the U.S. from El Salvador as an undocumented immigrant, declared the Church’s solidarity with immigrants and addressed the impact this policy of terror is having on the immigrant community stating: “The way that the immigration policies are enforced these days are not only destabilizing the life of the particular immigrant, but whole families, businesses, the life of children, whole communities, neighborhoods.”
Invoking the spirit of St. Romero, Bishop Menjivar has appealed to government officers and agents involved in enforcing ICE raids to refuse to carry out unjust actions. “I urge government officers and support staff in the present situation to heed these words which echo through history. It is time now for you to reclaim your conscience. What you are doing is worth nothing if it is stained with unjust cruelty. That is not what America stands for. You too can and should speak out against this terror and infliction of suffering on people. You can refuse to be involved in oppression and these grievous assaults on human rights and dignity…True, if you do, there may be adverse personal consequences. Óscar Romero certainly paid a price for speaking against the state of siege in his country. It might even mean leaving your job, but that is better than being complicit with evil, and it will lead to something even greater.” https://www.ncronline.org/opinion/guest-voices/bishop-evelio-menjivar-it-time-speak-out-against-trump-administrations
Every day, courageous actions are being taken by immigrants and advocates to resist ICE raids, detention and deportation. Two more prayer vigils sponsored by the DC Catholic Coalition will be held at ICE Headquarters on November 13th and December 12th. Inspired by the hope of the Gospel, let us continue to act in solidarity with all people of faith and conscience who are accompanying and standing with our terrorized immigrant sisters and brothers, nonviolently resisting the government’s reign of terror, and seeking to establish God’s reign of love, justice and peace.
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