Call on the White House
End Harmful Deportation Practices
Recent U.S. immigration enforcement practices raise serious moral, legal, and humanitarian concerns. The U.S. Catholic bishops have warned that the administration’s mass deportation campaignmis harming families, destabilizing communities, and undermining human dignity.
Despite claims that enforcement efforts focus on the most dangerous individuals, the Department of Homeland Security’s own data tell a different story:
- Most people arrested, detained, or deported have no criminal records or have committed only minor immigration or traffic infractions.
- Many targeted individuals have deep roots in the United States, including strong family, work, and religious ties. Millions languish in multiyear visa backlogs.
- Immigration enforcement actions often take place in “sensitive locations” such as schools, hospitals, courts, and places of worship — places people must enter to meet essential needs, fulfill legal obligations, and practice their faith.
- Harsh and unconstitutional enforcement tactics have terrorized communities, separated families, detained U.S. citizens, and fueled widespread civic unrest.
- Hundreds of people have been deported to third countries where they have no personal ties, leaving many
brutalized, imperiled, or stranded in dangerous conditions
.
As people of faith and conscience, we cannot accept policies that instill fear, violate fundamental rights, and erode the common good.
What You Can Do
Take action today by sending a letter to your elected officials.
Why This Matters
Immigration enforcement policies are not abstract. They determine whether families stay together, children go to school, parents seek medical care, and people can worship freely.
When immigration enforcement targets people without criminal records, conducts raids in sensitive locations, and removes individuals to countries where they face danger, the harm extends far beyond those directly affected:
- Families are torn apart, leaving U.S. citizen children without parents or caregivers.
- Communities are destabilized, as fear prevents people from reporting crimes, accessing health care, working, and engaging in civic life.
- Religious freedom is undermined when people are afraid to enter churches and other places of worship.
- Public trust erodes, weakening respect for the rule of law and government accountability.
- Human dignity is violated, contradicting our shared moral and constitutional values.
What We Are Asking the Administration to Do
- Prioritize the arrest and removal of truly violent and dangerous individuals — not long-term community members and pillars of society.
- Refrain from conducting immigration enforcement actions at or near sensitive locations and reinstate the “sensitive locations” policy.
- End warrantless raids and unreasonable stops that violate constitutional protections.
- Ensure robust, independent investigations into violent acts committed by ICE agents and refrain from blaming victims for harsh enforcement tactics.
Core Issues in Enforcement Practices
- Targeting Non-Criminal Individuals:
Many people caught in enforcement efforts lack criminal histories. These include asylum-seekers, torture survivors, and individuals with longstanding community ties, including parents of U.S. citizen children. - Sensitive Locations:
Schools, hospitals, courts, and houses of worship have long been considered sensitive under federal enforcement guidelines. Yet ICE now targets immigrants and others in these spaces, negatively affecting educational access, health care, and participation in civic and spiritual life. - Enforcement Tactics & Community Impact:
Aggressive tactics have caused fear, led to civic unrest, harmed children, and disrupted community life. - Third-Country Removals:
Removing individuals to countries where they have no ties raises serious safety and humanitarian concerns.
Additional Actions You Can Take
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Frequently Asked Questions
What are “sensitive locations”?
Sensitive locations include places where people must go to meet essential needs or legal obligations, such as schools, hospitals, courts, and places of worship. Immigration enforcement actions in these spaces can prevent families from seeking medical care, attending school, worshiping freely, or fulfilling their legal responsibilities.
Who is being impacted by these deportation practices?
Many people affected by mass deportation policies have no criminal records or have committed only minor immigration or traffic violations. This includes asylum-seekers, individuals deemed eligible for permanent visas but stranded in multiyear backlogs, and undocumented people with strong family, work, and faith-based ties to the United States.
Why are current enforcement tactics raising concern in communities?
Harsh enforcement tactics have terrorized communities, separated families, and impoverished households. These practices have also fueled civic unrest, led to the detention of U.S. citizens, and raised serious concerns regarding government accountability, due process, and the rule of law.
What does it mean to deport someone to a “third country”?
Third-country removals involve deporting individuals to countries where they may have no personal or family ties. Many people removed to third countries face serious danger, including imprisonment, violence, or abandonment without access to basic support or legal protection.
Why is JRS/USA calling for action now?
As a faith-based organization accompanying forcibly displaced people worldwide, Jesuit Refugee Service/USA is compelled to speak out when policies violate human dignity, endanger lives, and undermine the moral foundations of society. Advocacy is a vital way we live our mission of accompaniment and solidarity.
