CNA Staff, Nov 6, 2025 / 14:45 pm
The Texas Catholic Conference of Bishops expressed its solidarity this week with immigrants in the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program in Texas ahead of the implementation of a federal court order that will impact the immigrants’ legal status.
In a statement released Nov. 4, the Texas bishops called the looming implementation of the court ruling in the case Texas v. United States “unprecedented and disruptive.” The bishops said the ruling’s implementation will target “law-abiding people,” many of whom are “some of the most upstanding individuals” in “our communities.”
In the Texas v. United States case, Texas sued the federal government, claiming that DACA was illegally created without statutory authority, as it was created through executive action rather than legislation passed by Congress.
In January, the 5th Circuit Court of Appeals largely upheld the U.S. district court’s declaration that DACA is unlawful but narrowed the scope to Texas, separating deportation protections from work authorization. This means, in theory, that DACA’s core shield against removal could remain available nationwide for current recipients and new applicants, while work permits might be preserved for most — except in Texas.
On Sept. 29, the U.S. Department of Justice proposed how the appellate court’s order should be implemented. According to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), implementation of the district court’s order is expected at some point after Nov. 24.
In their statement, the Texas bishops blamed political “unwillingness” to address immigration reform over the years for the “terribly broken immigration system” that has led to the current situation, which is “fomenting fear [and] severing relationships.”
“The present distress in our country regarding immigration is the result of decades of unwillingness on all sides to enact reasonable and meaningful immigration reform,” the bishops wrote, “reform which respects both national security needs and the human right of each person to work and raise a family in peace.”
“We will continue to work with people of goodwill to encourage compassionate outreach to those in dire predicaments and a humane reform of our terribly broken immigration system,” the bishops wrote.
The Texas bishops noted that they “are pastors of ICE agents and DACA recipients” and said the 5th Circuit’s ruling will “only exacerbate fear and distrust, pit community members against one another, and cause significant economic disruption for many communities.”
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ (USCCB) Department of Migration and Refugee Services also called attention to the ongoing federal court developments expected to affect the program’s beneficiaries in Texas in an advisory at the end of October.
“Anyone eligible for DACA should consider the consequences of moving to or from Texas,” the USCCB update states, pointing out that relocation could trigger revocation of employment authorization with just 15 days’ notice.
For Texas’ approximately 90,000 DACA recipients — the second-largest population after California’s 145,000 — the implications could be stark, according to the U.S. and Texas bishops.
Andrew Arthur, a former immigration judge and a fellow at the Center for Immigration Studies, told CNA in October that the key takeaway from the USCCB’s update is a “warning” to DACA recipients “who live in Texas.”
Under the looming order, if it is implemented according to the U.S. government’s proposals, DACA recipients who live in Texas could receive “forbearance from removal” (deferred deportation) but lose “lawful presence” status, disqualifying them from work permits and benefits such as in-state tuition or driver’s licenses.
Launched in 2012 through executive action by President Barack Obama, DACA offers work authorization and temporary protection from deportation to undocumented immigrants brought to the U.S. as minors.
The first Trump administration tried to end the program but was blocked from doing so in 2020 by the U.S. Supreme Court. While President Donald Trump has indicated a willingness to work with Democrats on the status of DACA beneficiaries, the program continues to be subject to litigation, with the latest developments centering on the Texas v. United States case.
To be eligible for DACA, applicants must have arrived before age 16, resided continuously since June 15, 2007, and been under the age of 31 as of June 15, 2012. There are approximately 530,000 DACA participants nationwide according to KFF, formerly known as the Kaiser Family Foundation. KFF estimates that up to 1.1 million individuals meet DACA eligibility criteria.
“We want to say unequivocably to all our immigrant sisters and brothers, and in a particular way to those who arrived as children: We have heard your cries. We are with you in these difficult days,” the Texas bishops wrote.
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It’s just awesome how Bishops have absolute contempt for citizens.
When do they declare illegals living saints to be venerated.
I look forward to the bishops expressing solidarity with impoverished American citizens whose benefits are compromised by citizens of other nations depleting job opportunities and assistance here in the United States.
A nation shouldering thirty-seven trillion dollars in debt is not equipped to serve as the world’s poor house. Instead of berating the United States and demanding it become the world’s poor house, the episcopate might display some manly courage and challenge failed tyrannical nations to exercise their responsibility toward their citizens. The lack of fortitude exhibited by the global episcopate boarders on the comical but for the scandal it engenders. They certainly have their own peculiar vetting process for those applying for the priesthood and religious life.
Be woke or be gone.
Protracted adolescent “moral” reasoning serves not only to debase their authority but that of the Gospel as well. Contribute some sound advise or be still.
Today’s bishops, with few notable exceptions, need their own worldwide reset. Nearly two centuries ago, the Catholic Church, led by the bishops, discretely transitioned the operation of their respective diocesan kingdoms from a pastoral operating mode / model to a business / corporate model. These days, the average Catholic has little to no opportunity to speak one on one with their bishop.
The bishops, for their part, spend 99% of their time and effort fundraising, i.e., rubbing elbows with the top wealthiest 1% of constituents within their scope of influence. Confirmations become merely an annual annoyance.
One cannot approach the archbishop of one major metropolitan city in the US because he is surrounded by an impenetrable wall of lay advisors.
Another problem has to do with the ratio of bishops to population, especially in large population centers.
More bishops are needed to properly shepherd God’s children.
The current socio-economic structure within which bishops currently operate will not last.
As society crumbles so does the current functionality of the diocese. And no one will have any money to bail them out.
Like the Apostles, they will have to learn what to do from scratch.
Don’t call them “immigrants”. That’s an insult to all those who came to the USA LEGALLY in the past 250 years. Call them what they are: ILLEGAL INVADERS.