U.S. bishops demand justice and transparency following migrant deaths in ICE custody

U.S. Bishops Daniel E. García and Brendan J. Cahill lamented the deaths of migrants that occurred during recent immigration enforcement operations and called for “accountability, transparency, and justice.”

García, chair of the Subcommittee on the Promotion of Racial Justice and Reconciliation of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and Cahill, chair of the Committee on Migration, issued a pastoral reflection following “several recent immigration enforcement encounters resulting in the loss of life.”

In Houston on July 7, a U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agent shot and killed Mexican national Lorenzo Salgado Araújo during an operation. On July 13, Colombian national Johan Sebastián Durán Guerrero died after being shot by a federal agent in Maine.

In both cases, the U.S. government maintains that the agents acted in self-defense.

In their joint reflection, the prelates said that Catholics “grieve all situations where human life is brought to an unnatural end.”

“This is a core teaching of our faith and one we can never grow weary of proclaiming as disciples of Our Lord Jesus Christ,” they noted.

The bishops recalled the statement issued by the USCCB in November 2025, in which the American bishops expressed concern regarding the “climate of fear and anxiety” they observed among the population “around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement.”

“Racial profiling in particular not only violates God-given dignity but also inflicts profound harm on individuals, families, and communities by fostering fear, eroding trust, and increasing the risk of unjust and even tragic outcomes. Our pastoral concerns are distinct from what the civil law itself may permit,” the two bishops stated.

Likewise, they warned that “acts that diminish or disregard the dignity of any person or group of people should never be normalized in our society.”

“The dehumanization of immigrants, regardless of their legal status, is one such example of this; the vilification of law enforcement officers is yet another,” they noted.

The bishops recalled that the authorities must “apply the law in a humane manner and with respect for fundamental human rights,” exercising state power “always within the limits of the moral law.”

“To that end, we call for accountability, transparency, and justice, which require that meaningful reforms be made to our immigration system,” they stated in their pastoral reflection.

“We join in praying for the souls of those killed and for their families,” they declared, “for our nation, and for all those entrusted with the duties of public service. We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric, racial prejudice, and violence and for a renewed commitment to recognizing the inherent dignity of every person as a child of God.”

On June 25, the Human Rights Watch organization published a 73-page report in which it charged that, so far during President Donald Trumpʼs administration, “52 people have died in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) custody in the United States.” The document lists among the causes “poor detention conditions and lack of adequate medical care.”

Added to these is the death on July 13 of 45-year-old Venezuelan Jesús Manuel Arias-Silva. According to the ICE statement, the migrant was detained on Thursday, July 9 and died “while being transferred between detention facilities in Georgia.”

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, the Spanish-language sister service of EWTN News. It has been translated and adapted by EWTN News English.

Source: https://www.ewtnnews.com/world/americas/u-s-bishops-demand-justice-and-transparency-following-migrant-deaths-in-ice-custody