Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge has issued a strong rebuke of President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, in a statement saying the policies threaten to tear apart families, harm Louisiana’s economy and undermine the nation’s values.
Trump on Wednesday signed executive actions to jumpstart the construction of a U.S.-Mexico border wall, boost the nation’s border patrol agents and immigration officers, and cut funding for sanctuary cities that protect illegal immigrants.
As The Associated Press reports, the directives signal a shift in U.S. immigration policy, which for years saw both Democrats and Republicans pass legislation that created a pathway to citizenship. Trump, however, won the fall presidential election with a hard-line immigration message that has seemingly recalibrated his party’s view on immigration.
In its statement issued last night, Catholic Charities calls Trump’s executive actions “anti-immigrant” and “harsh,” adding that it believes the policies would increase security risks rather than minimize them.
“These measures are based on fear without a solid factual justification and burden our nation with a disproportionate costly response to an ill-defined issue,” David Aguillard, executive director of Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Baton Rouge, says in the prepared statement. “Whenever we respond to imaginary fears rather than our hopes, when we act based on weakness rather than confidence, we harm our self-interest and empower our enemies.”
Catholics, he adds, should voice their opposition to the policies based on discrimination they once experienced in America.
“At one time, we were unwelcome and accused of undermining American democracy,” he adds. “Such prejudice was wrong then, and it’s wrong now.”
The statement also notes the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops has always supported—and Louisiana would also benefitted economically from—a pathway to citizenship rather than forced deportation.
“A path to citizenship would increase our Gross State Product (GSP) by $3 billion and increase tax revenue by $15 million. Deportations would reduce our state’s revenue by $75 million,” the Catholic Charities statement reads. “If all the unauthorized immigrants were removed from Louisiana, the state would lose $500 million in economic activity, $400 million in GSP, and over 6,500 jobs.”
