By “I am asking every parish of the diocese to include a prayer for immigrant families and for all those affected by these events at every Mass in the days ahead,” Bishop Frank Caggiano said.
Bishop Frank Caggiano of Bridgeport, Connecticut, called for support as he said recent immigration enforcement in the state has left some Catholic families afraid to attend church or school.
Families in Fairfield County, including those in Danbury and Stamford, “have lived through moments of real fear as immigration enforcement activity has intensified in our area,” Caggiano said in a statement.
Caggiano urged federal officials to respect human dignity no matter one’s country of birth. Regardless of immigration status, each person “is made in the image and likeness of God and possesses a dignity that no earthly power may set aside,” he said.
The bishop’s Aug. 30 statement followed local reports of heightened immigration enforcement throughout local communities.
Gov. Ned Lamont of Connecticut released a statement in July about the actions of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in the state. It reported that there would be coordination with community organizations and advocates regarding increased ICE activity.
“Connecticut has some of the lowest crime rates in the country, thanks to the excellent work our state and local police do to keep violent criminals off our streets. Rounding up people at random to fill a quota does not lower crime. It traumatizes families and communities,” Lamont said.
Caggiano detailed some of the specific instances in the diocese.
“I have heard of husbands and fathers taken from their cars on the way to work, of spouses unable to find where a loved one has been brought, and of neighbors who no longer feel at ease walking to the store, dropping off a child at school, or simply going about the ordinary business of the day,” he said.
“Whatever one believes about the just enforcement of our nation’s laws, no person of faith can look upon this kind of suffering with indifference,” he said.
“I do not write to make a political statement, nor is it the place of a Bishop to dictate the particulars of civil policy that belong properly to lawmakers and to citizens acting according to their conscience,” he said.
“But I write as a pastor who cannot remain silent while members of our human family are suffering, while families are separated, and while fear has entered our schools, our workplaces, and our streets,” Caggiano said.
Local parishes are ‘places of welcome and refuge’
Caggiano called on parishes in the diocese to support immigrant families and anyone affected by enforcement actions.
“To our immigrant brothers and sisters throughout Fairfield County, whether or not you are Catholic, whether or not you have ever set foot in one of our parishes, please know that the Church stands with you,” he said.
“Our parishes, our Catholic Charities, and our Office of Hispanic Ministry remain, as they have always been, places of welcome and refuge, and no one need fear that the doors of our churches will ever be closed to them,” he said.
The bishop asked parishes to include a prayer for immigrant families and those affected “at every Mass in the days ahead.” He also urged the community to remember the words the Lord spoke in Scripture: “Do not be afraid, for I am with you.”
“Fear is real, but it does not have the final word,” he said. “Christ walks with every suffering family in Fairfield County each day, and He asks each of us, as His Church, to walk with them as well.”
Caggiano called on Our Lady of Guadalupe, mother of the migrant and consolation of the afflicted, to “wrap her mantle around every family who suffers in this hour.”
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The Bishops continue to disobey U.S. Law and endanger us, our wives, children, families and country.
They think that we don’t have enough bad people in the U.S. So we have to import more from among those who show their moral values and lack of regard for their neighbors rights by violating our laws to enter our country instead of applying for a visa at an American consulate or in case of true political persecution, by asking for asylum at a consulate or embassy. This is the legal and indeed moral way.
These are a few of the recent crimes, including child trafficking, committed by those among the illegal aliens the bishops abet. THE BISHOPS ARE THEREFORE COMPLICIT IN THESE CRIMES AGAINST US:
Deported Cuban child predator busted while crossing again Texas border
https://www.breitbart.com/border/2026/08/27/exclusive-deported-cuban-child-predator-busted-while-crossing-texas-border/
—Illegal alien fugitive arrested after allegedly slashing woman’s throat in Tennessee
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/06/16/illegal-alien-fugitive-arrested-after-allegedly-slashing-womans-throat-tennessee/
• The OFFICE OF THE TENNESSEE DISTRICT ATTORNEYS GENERAL Conference has released its annual state immigration report revealing that IN 2025, ILLEGAL MIGRANTS COMMITTED 2,183 VIOLENT OFFENSES, INCLUDING 41 HOMICIDES, 145 SEXUAL OFFENSES, 11 CHILD RAPES, AND MORE. Tennessee Releases Staggering Stats on Migrant Crime
• https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/02/02/tennessee-releases-staggering-stats-migrant-crime/
•
—735 Illegal Aliens Arrested by ICE-Houston Officers— accounted for more than 1,700 criminal convictions, WITH NEARLY 1,200 involving VIOLENT CONVICTIONS, INCLUDING MURDERERS, CHILD PREDATORS
https://www.breitbart.com/border/2026/06/18/exclusive-735-criminal-illegal-aliens-arrested-by-ice-houston-agents-in-may-nearly-1200-with-violent-convictions-including-murderers-child-predators/
—ICE Deports Illegal Aliens Gang Members Convicted of Attempted Murder, Burglary
• https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/21/ice-deports-illegal-gang-members-convicted-of-attempted-murder-burglary/
—Illegal Alien Accused of Pouring Hot Wax on Daughter, Setting Fire Inside Miami Home
• https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/21/illegal-alien-accused-of-pouring-hot-wax-on-daughter-setting-fire-inside-miami-home/
—DOJ Indicts Illegal Aliens Accused of Massive Democrat Administratin-Era Child Trafficking Scheme
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/06/11/doj-indicts-three-illegal-aliens-accused-of-smuggling-migrant-children-into-us/
•
• ICE Agents Deport Illegal Aliens Convicted of Murder, Rape, Drug Trafficking
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/07/29/ice-agents-deport-illegal-alien-convicted-of-murder-rape-drug-trafficking/
ICE Deports Illegal Aliens Convicted of Kidnapping, Armed Assault, Cocaine Smuggling
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/07/31/ice-deports-illegal-aliens-convicted-of-kidnapping-armed-assault-cocaine-smuggling/
ICE Deports Illegal Alien Gang Members Convicted of Manslaughter, Attempted Murder, Rape
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/12/ice-deports-illegal-alien-gang-members-convicted-of-manslaughter-attempted-murder-rape/
Chicago Threw $640M in Tax Dollars at Illegal Migrants Over Two Years
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/21/chicago-threw-640m-in-tax-dollars-at-illegal-migrants-over-two-years/
•
• The ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT accused of kidnapping and sexually assaulting a teenage girl at Freedom Park in Idaho appeared in court Friday. Lozano Flores illegally crossed the Democrat administration’s open southern border into New Mexico in 2023, but was apprehended by U.S. Border Patrol and agreed to voluntarily return to Mexico, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has revealed. He then reentered the U.S. at an unknown location and date.
https://www.kivitv.com/news/local-news/in-your-neighborhood/ada-county/new-details-suspect-charged-in-freedom-park-sexual-assault-kidnapping-held-on-3-million-bail
• ICE DEPORTED SEVERAL ILLEGAL ALIENS LAST WEEK, INCLUDING THOSE CONVICTED OF HOMICIDE, RAPE, AND ANIMAL ABUSE, Breitbart News has learned. “In the last week alone, ICE has deported dangerous criminals from our country, including murderers, rapists, drug traffickers, and violent assailants,” DHS Secretary Markwayne Mullin said in a statement.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/05/exclusive-ice-deports-illegal-aliens-convicted-homicide-rape-animal-abuse/
Democrat Administration-Parole Migrant Accused of Raping 2 Women in Salt Lake City, Utah
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/04/biden-parole-migrant-accused-of-raping-2-women-in-salt-lake-city-utah/
• Turkish Illegal Unleashed by Democrat Administration Charged With Sexually Abusing 6-Year-Old at California Daycare. DHS said the child’s mother reported that Bagci “lured the girl into a closet pretending to play hide-and-seek, where he sexually assaulted her.” ”He then allegedly brought the girl into a bathroom and raped her that same day,” DHS SAID. BAGCI HAD BEEN REMOVED FROM THE COUNTRY BY THE U.S. CUSTOMS AND BORDER PROTECTION IN NOVEMBER 2023 AND AGAIN IN SEPTEMBER 2024.
https://borderhawk.news/exclusive-turkish-illegal-unleashed-by-biden-charged-with-sexually-abusing-6-year-old-at-california-daycare/
https://x.com/DHSgov
Indian National on Student Visa Accused of Murdering 19-Year-Old Julissa Salazar
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/12/report-indian-national-on-student-visa-accused-of-murdering-19-year-old-julissa-salazar/
Illegal alien, reportedly released into the United States by the Democrat administration, is now accused of murdering a mother of a 3-year-old girl in Fairfax County, Virginia.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/19/report-biden-released-illegal-alien-accused-of-murdering-mother-of-3-year-old-in-virginia/
• Democrat administration’s Arab ‘Migrants’ Charged With Child Rape in Utah
https://borderhawk.news/bidens-arab-migrants-charged-with-child-rape-in-utah/
• An illegal alien from Guatemala has been charged with committing heinous sex crimes against under 14 young victims in the state of Utah.
https://borderhawk.news/exclusive-previously-deported-guatemalan-charged-with-raping-underage-sisters-in-utah/
• llegal Alien Charged with Sexually Assaulting, Murdering 2-Year-Old Girl in Virginia
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/07/22/illegal-alien-charged-sexually-assaulting-murdering-2-year-old-girl-virginia/
Illegal Alien Released from Jail Accused of Fatally Stabbing Retiree One Day Later in Sanctuary California
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/13/video-illegal-alien-released-jail-accused-fatally-stabbing-retiree-one-day-later-sanctuary-california/
Kentucky: Illegal Alien Accused of Raping, Sodomizing 15-Year-Old Girl
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/13/kentucky-illegal-alien-accused-raping-sodomizing-15-year-old-girl/
ICE Arrests Illegal Aliens Convicted of Murder, Domestic Abuse, Child Cruelty
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/25/ice-arrests-illegal-aliens-convicted-murder-domestic-violence-child-cruelty/
Thousands of Food Safety Violations by Illegal Alien Street Vendors But Democrat Administration Does Nothing in Samctuaru City Los Angeles. Democrat leaders have decided to do nothing despite being aware of horrifying health hazards, their own previously unreleased records reveal.
“A dog eating meat out of a street vendor’s bag before it was served to customers. Cockroaches crawling out of a food truck. Mice scurrying beside open salsa. Raw meat baking unrefrigerated in the heat. People urinating around cooking equipment.”
Those are just some of shocking allegations listed in a staggering 662-page dossier of 9,746 public health complaints about street food vendors filed across Los Angeles County from 2023 until early 2026, according to the California Post, which obtained the list only after it made a public records request.
https://www.breitbart.com/health/2026/08/30/33585072report-officials-fielded-thousands-of-food-safety-violations-by-illegal-street-vendors-but-now-do-nothing/
Portland: 80% of Fentanyl Trafficker Arrests Are Illegal Migrants from Honduras
https://www.breitbart.com/immigration/2026/08/27/portland-80-of-fentanyl-trafficker-arrests-are-illegal-migrants-from-honduras/
Virginia: Democrat Administration’s Differed Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) Illegal Alien Charged with More than 20 Counts of Child Pornography
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/27/spanbergers-virginia-daca-illegal-alien-charged-with-over-20-counts-of-child-pornography/
ICE Arrests Illegal Alien Pedophiles, Rapists, Kidnappers Across U.S.
https://www.breitbart.com/politics/2026/08/28/exclusive-ice-agents-arrest-illegal-alien-pedophiles-rapists-kidnappers-across-u-s/
Oscar: well done, indeed.
Thank you Deacon. Anyone entering illegally shows by this act that he has no regard for his neighbor’s rights.
That is the kind of person the bishops want and regard as worthy of being allowed to come in and stay and not be deported.
Ask any victim of illegal alien crime if he or she thinks it is ok to let in 12 million illegals and not deport them because only one was the perpetrator of the crime against the victim.
And of course ALL ILLEGALS cause lowering wages for Americans, crowding schools, overtaxing health systems, raising rents and housing costs, WITH 50% OF ILLEGAL ALIEN FAMILIES ON WELFARE, far higher than the average for non illegals, not to mention the STEALING OF BILLIOS OF TAXPAYER DOLLARS AS IN MINNESOTA AND CALIFORNIA,
Or “non-violelnt crimes” such as DWI, fraud, theft, identity theft, drug trafficking, child pornography possession, and some forms of human trafficking and child molestation.
This is what the bishops abet and some well meaning Catholics unknowingly support when they defend and would be willing to allow staying in the U.S. the “non violent” and peaceful and hard working “immigrants” (a WEASEL WORD if there is any…).
ICE has been targeting criminal aliens. They are not “immigrants” Bishop. The more innocent aliens merit concern. I personally give a lot of aid to one such family. Opposing ICE supports child sex trafficking, rape, and murder. Why is this acceptable Bishop?
Bishop Caggiano: Why not house these illegal aliens at your chancery residence? You could probably use the company.
Indeed. Why not house a nice illegal alien family in the Church basement? Or why not house a nice illegal alien family or even one illegal, in the bishop’s own dwelling place, say one of this rooms, or in the living room, or the basement? Why is it always “the government” (meaning taxpayers) or “A Catholic Charity” (Church entities that get huge amounts of taxpayers money) that have to “help” the illegals that the Bishops abet in our country in violation of our laws (these violations are a great example of citizenship on the bishops part too)?
Our former diocese didn’t provide housing directly to those who didn’t have legal immigration status but people within the diocese helped out with practical needs like providing portable heaters, scholarships for children, etc.
One family we knew was able to be sponsored by the husband’s employer & got their legal residential status.Both of the older children earned scholarships to private Catholic high schools.
Virtue signaling Bishops, avoiding sober consideration of bad consequences from uncritical sentiment, do enormous harm to the entirety of Catholic witness.
The bishop could use the opportunity to teach his immigrants:
1) the virtue of courage,
2) the scripture that another may kill the body but not the soul,
3) that dignity results from one’s image and likeness, that one’s image and likeness of God is magnified by a respect and obedience toward a country’s (not one’s own) lawful and moral authority and right to prohibit immigrants from illegally crossing its borders, and
4) to teach 1 John 4:18: Perfect love casts out fear.
An immigrant who fears ICE reasonably has acted unlawfully against ICE. Why would a person fear going to Mass??? A person who fears going to Mass is akin to a person’s pathological fear of daylight. Get a grip, Bishop. Wake up and see the Light.
So the Bishop wants to aid and abet criminality?
Would he be as attentive to interests of Catholics targeted by the FBI, or “undocumented taxpayers” pursued by the IRS?
Bishop Caggiano seems like a nice man. But I cannot help but reflect on a CWR article about a week ago on WEASEL WORDS.
The bishop said that, “recent immigration enforcement in the state has left some Catholic families afraid to attend church or school.” Those “some Catholic families” would be illegals?
Families “have lived through moments of real fear as immigration enforcement activity has intensified in our area.” Again, those would be illegal families as legal ones would have no reason to fear.
“Whatever one believes about the just enforcement of our nation’s laws,” This means what? That one can believe that just enforcement of our laws is not a good thing?
During the four Biden years over 12 million illegals entered our country adding to the millions of illegals already here. Although not in this article bishops often use the phrase “mass deportations.” Our deportations to date have made no significant dent in those numbers.
The bishops official teaching is that abortion is the preeminent moral issue. But if we go by what they emphasize the two preeminent issues are illegal immigrants and the execution of a few dozen murderers per year.
In 2024, the most recent reported year Connecticut had 13,340 Brick and Mortar abortions. I suppose that does not include chemical abortions at home. It is not that I am even looking for outrage about the murder of over 13,000 unborn babies per year. I would just like to see some equivalent level of concern.
They constantly demonstrate a desire for the favorable opinion of the liberal establishment at their cocktail parties and their imaginary concerns than taking on the impossible to avoid suffering that giving witness to truth would require.
Virtue signaling Bishops, avoiding sober consideration of bad consequences from uncritical sentiment, do enormous harm to the entirety of Catholic witness.