U.S. House panel backs immigration bill bishops warn could mislabel migrants

Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, wrote to Congress that the bill’s low evidentiary threshold would expand deportation authorities in ways that could sweep too broadly.

The U.S. bishops are urging Congress to reject a bill that would make noncitizens labeled as gang members deportable based on a “reason to believe” standard.

The House Judiciary Committee approved the bill, H.R. 175, on June 3, which sponsor Rep. Tom McClintock, R-California, named the Deport Alien Gang Members Act. House consideration is the next step.

In a letter to Judiciary Chair Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, and ranking member Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Maryland, Bishop Brendan J. Cahill of Victoria, Texas, said: “This bill is unjustifiably broad and risks implicating the victims of criminal gangs, as well as Catholics and other people of faith serving immigrants in accordance with our sincerely held religious beliefs.”

Cahill’s letter expressed concern that the bill’s low evidentiary threshold would expand deportation authorities in ways that could sweep too broadly.

“In effect, foreign-born religious workers, such as priests and religious sisters, while being compelled as a primary purpose of their vocations to assist with others’ basic needs, could be subjected to the designation under section 2(a) of the bill and its corresponding consequences for individuals,” said Cahill, chair of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration.

U.S. bishops said while governments have a legitimate responsibility to protect the public from criminal activity, immigration policies must also safeguard human dignity, family unity, and fundamental humanitarian protections.

The bishops’ opposition to H.R. 175 is consistent with their long-standing approach to immigration policy. While affirming the government’s responsibility to protect public safety and secure the nation’s borders, the USCCB has repeatedly objected to policies it believes threaten due process or family unity.

U.S. bishops issued a special message in November 2025 warning against “indiscriminate mass deportation,” saying such broad actions would harm families, violate human dignity, and ignore the Church’s call to protect the vulnerable.

McClintock’s legislation would make noncitizens who are believed to be members of a criminal gang deportable and ineligible for certain forms of immigration relief. Supporters of the bill argue that it would strengthen public safety by giving federal authorities additional tools to remove dangerous individuals associated with transnational criminal organizations.

McClintock said: “The bill fills that glaring gap in our nation’s defenses. It creates clear grounds of inadmissibility and deportability for aliens who are members of criminal gangs or who have promoted, aided, conspired with, or participated in gang activities.”

Raskin, meanwhile, said the administration already has ample authority under existing immigration laws to deny entry to or remove criminal gang members. Current law contains provisions ensuring that convicted criminal gang members are deportable and inadmissible. The Immigration and Nationality Act allows the administration to exclude anyone who seeks to enter the U.S. and intends to engage in any unlawful activity, and it renders deportable any noncitizen who is engaged in criminal activity endangering public safety.

Would this administration use the powers granted to them by the bill to declare Pope Leo as the leader of a criminal gang? Donald Trump has already called the pope weak on crime. Is this the next step?”

Jamie Raskin

Ranking member, House Judiciary Committee

“The Catholic Church has come out forcefully against this government’s abuse and mistreatment of migrants,” Raskin said at the markup. “Would this administration use the powers granted to them by the bill to declare Pope Leo as the leader of a criminal gang? Donald Trump has already called the pope weak on crime. Is this the next step?”

While U.S. Catholic bishops have repeatedly affirmed the government’s responsibility to protect communities from crime and maintain secure borders, they said H.R. 175 lacks sufficient safeguards to ensure that immigration enforcement is carried out justly.

The bishops warned that gang affiliation can be difficult to establish accurately and that individuals may be labeled as gang members based on limited or unreliable evidence. They argued that the legislation could expose immigrants to severe penalties without providing adequate opportunities to challenge accusations made against them.

The conference also raised concerns that the bill would contribute to an enforcement-focused approach to immigration policy rather than advancing comprehensive reforms.

“Given these significant defects, we ask you to reject this bill and to instead work toward meaningful and bipartisan reforms of our immigration system that uphold protections for the vulnerable and ensure religious and humanitarian services can be provided in good faith to all in need,” Cahill wrote.