WASHINGTON – Vice President JD Vance knocked the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in an interview that aired Sunday after the group criticized President Donald Trump‘s rollback of a rule that limited immigration enforcement near places of worship and schools.
Bishop Mark J. Seitz, chairman of the Catholic organization’s migration committee, along with leaders of other Catholic groups, wrote in a Thursday statement that “non-emergency immigration enforcement” in sensitive areas like places of worship are “contrary to the common good.”
“Turning places of care, healing, and solace into places of fear and uncertainty for those in need, while endangering the trust between pastors, providers, educators and the people they serve, will not make our communities safer,” they said.
The Trump administration last week reversed guidance that immigration enforcement should not “restrain people’s access to essential services or engagement in essential activities.” The places included are often referred to as “sensitive locations.”
On CBS’s “Face the Nation,” host Margaret Brennan pressed Vance on whether he supports conducting raids or other actions at church services or in schools.
Vance defended the policy. “Of course, if you have a person who is convicted of a violent crime, whether they’re an illegal immigrant or a non-illegal immigrant, you have to go and get that person to protect the public safety,” he said.
Vance, who has been vocal about his Catholic faith, said he was “heartbroken” by the statement last week, but he also accused the conference of being more concerned about funding than helping immigrants in the U.S.
“I think that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to actually look in the mirror a little bit and recognize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants, are they worried about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually worried about their bottom line?” he said.
He noted that he didn’t think the group has “been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement that the American people voted for.”
USA TODAY has reached out to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops for comment. Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, in a separate statement also criticized some of Trump’s wide-reaching executive orders on immigration.
However, he did applaud Trump’s executive action on the federal government’s handling of gender.
In the interview that aired Sunday, Vance also defended Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth and Tulsi Gabbard, Trump’s pick for director of national intelligence. He said he’s confident that Gabbard will be confirmed by the Senate.
Hegseth was narrowly confirmed on last week after facing allegations of sexual assault and excessive drinking, among other accusations. Three Republican senators – Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska – all voted against Hegseth’s confirmation, but Vance broke a tie in the Senate in his role as vice president.
Gabbard is expected to face questions from senators on both sides of the aisle over her trip to Syria in 2017, when she met with former President Bashar al-Assad. That trip angered many Democrats at the time, who felt it legitimized Assad, who was being accused of war crimes against a popular uprising.
Other critics have targeted her past statements they say echo Russian talking points.
“We need to have good intelligence services who keep us safe, but part of that is restoring trust in those services, and we think Tulsi is the right person to do it,” Vance said.
