MIAMI — Roman Catholic Church leaders are making a plea to President Donald Trump and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis to halt all immigration deportation efforts through the holiday season.

Speaking on behalf of the Bishops of the Catholic Church in Florida, Archbishop Thomas Wenski — Miami’s top Catholic leader — appealed to officials to pause all “roundups” and arrests of immigrants during Christmas and through the Feast of the Epiphany — which Catholics celebrate on Jan. 6.

During a news briefing on Monday, Wenski said a temporary pause would give people time to be with their families during Christmas “without fear of being arrested or taken into custody.”

“It’s a very simple request,” Wenski said. “It’s not asking them to reverse their policies, which we hope they would. We’re just asking them to give a pause so that we can get beyond the Christmas holidays without people being paralyzed by fear.”

In the joint statement, Florida Bishops said that the initial goal of removing “dangerous criminals” has been accomplished “to a great degree.”

“Over half a million people have been deported this year, and nearly two million more have voluntarily self-deported,” the statement reads.

The appeal goes on to say that at this point, “many of these arrest operations inevitably sweep up numbers of people who are not criminals but just here to work.”

The Miami Herald reached out to the governor’s office and the White House for comment on the Catholic leaders’ request.

Catholic Church calls for immigration reform

The plea to the White House and the Florida governor comes at a time when the Catholic Church has been ramping up unified efforts to call for more humanity in the immigration system and condemn the White House’s mass deportation agenda.

Last month, Pope Leo XIV condemned the treatment of migrants in the United States as “extremely disrespectful.” Leo, the first American-born pope, has been a vocal supporter of immigrants’ rights and said the church is “saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants.”

Leo’s stance aligns with a similar message from the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in November, which expressed concern for immigrants in the United States, as well as the government policies affecting them.

The Catholic Bishops emphasized that the church recognizes “the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants,” and advocated “for a meaningful reform of our nation’s immigration laws and procedures.”

At Monday’s news briefing, Wenski mentioned a Catholic-organized protest last month at the immigration courts in downtown Miami as an example of what Catholics around the country can be doing to support the actions of the larger church.

He said the vigils and marches are “very good at bringing people’s attention to the issue,” but that the church is trying to work with elected officials to create“more humane legislation around immigration, “not these draconian laws,” he said.

Wenski said that he understands the need for deportation, especially in the case of dangerous or violent criminals, but pointed out that some groups in Miami — Haitians, Nicaraguans, Venezuelans for example — are dealing with the complexities of a temporary status program coming to an end.

“They were never illegal in this country a day in their life until the program comes to an end. We’re talking about people as if they were serious law breakers, and they’re not,” he said.

Wenski mentioned the Catholic Church’s other efforts to push back on tough immigration policies — including the work of Catholic Legal Services, advocating for the “Dignity Act” to help grant some migrants legal status, and holding Mass at Alligator Alcatraz to ensure migrants are able to receive pastoral care during detention.

“The main point today is let’s get a pause,” he said, “and don’t be the Grinch that stole Christmas.”

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