I believe in the rule of law–I believe in our nation’s sovereignty and respect for our borders. I believe in a lawful and dutiful Immigration and Customs Enforcement and, consequentially, the idea that active criminals without legal status should be removed from our nation according to due process and constitutional norms.
But I’m also Catholic, an identity that supersedes any party affiliation, and I believe in human dignity, especially that of children. When thinking about politics, I often ask myself, “what would Jesus do?” This question often catapults me out of partisan politics and into something much bigger: our shared humanity. In this vein, we must contemplate whether our politics reflect a higher justice or simply a belief in authority.
Right now, ICE isn’t operating with the law or human dignity in mind. Back in November, masked agents traumatized a group of worshippers at an east Charlotte church; these agents didn’t identify themselves before taking any potential suspects. A 15-year-old boy at the scene wondered, “I thought, ‘Wait, why am I running? I’m a citizen.’”
Most recently, with ICE’s presence in Minnesota, we’ve seen a vast array of tragedies. Wednesday, January 21st, one of the most heartbreaking images to surface was a 5-year-old boy–in his big, bulky flannel coat larger than his frame with a bright blue hat hanging down–standing helplessly in his backpack with, presumably, law enforcement ready to restrain him if necessary. This boy–Liam Conejo Ramos–was in his driveway returning home from school when agents asked him to knock on the door, in order to see if anyone else was home.
Used as “‘bait’” for agents, this child–completely innocent, a victim of circumstances–and his father’s whereabouts are unknown. Most likely, they are in Texas in a detention center. Was this move to detain a 5-year-old legal? Yes. But, as the family’s lawyer notes, “‘Just because something is legal doesn’t mean it’s moral.’”
And that’s where ICE has gone wrong.
Is This Moral?
Catholic social teaching is clear: human dignity does not depend on immigration status. Jesus himself lived as a refugee–as made abundantly clear in the Bible, “There is neither Jew nor Greek . . . for you are all one in Christ Jesus” (Gal 3:28). Under the highest power, the power that trumps petty partisan politics, we are equals, regardless of our nationality.
We know that we will be judged by the Creator based on our treatment of the most vulnerable, and it is those vulnerable individuals that deserve protection, including, but not limited to, education and medical care. Children, especially, are particularly among the most vulnerable–they enter the world clean, free of sin, free of judgement. Using children as leverage or bait, whether it be through intimidation, separation, or psychological pressure, is absolutely despicable. It’s morally disfiguring.
This is not to say that we shouldn’t believe in any border regulation, period. But, border control must be carried out with an emphasis on justice, mercy, and decency. As Pope Pius XII laid out in the 1952 Exsul Familia Nazarethana, asserts, “The natural law itself, no less than devotion to humanity, urges that ways of migration be opened to these people.” Plainly, when we consider our moral compass and basic human compassion, we reach the conclusion that we must support immigration.
Certainly, the most cruel view out there is that an undocumented immigrant’s mere presence in the United States is deportation-worthy. This is what Karoline Leavitt said proudly: if you are here, on U.S. soil, that is a crime in itself. But is that right? According to the law, maybe. But laws without morals lose legitimacy quickly.
In this sense, when we examine ICE’s track record, we must not consider what is allowed, but what we believe in.
It’s Not Helping The Conservative Cause
This is not only a gross moral failure on behalf of the Trump Administration–it’s a political one.
Trump’s losing conservatives. According to an analysis done by the Latino Policy & Politics Institute at UCLA in November 2025, Latinos, younger voters, and moderates are among the first to fracture with Trump’s Republican party, as a result of this immigration push. The biggest dissenting demographic? Moderate Republican women. The majority of these women disagree that ICE agents should pursue enforcement in places such as schools, hospitals, and parks, compared to 43% of moderate Republican men. This is not a trivial gender distinction. Women–motivated by a unique maternal instinct–often serve as moral bellwethers of political movements.
The Trump Administration, and the conservative movement more largely, should support the Latino community. After all, Latinos in the United States embody the conservative mission–they’re family-oriented, freedom-driven, entrepreneurial, patriotic, and socially traditional. They don’t only just believe in conservatism. They live it every day through hard work and faith.
Latinos account for one of every four working-class Americans, contributing heavily to crucial domains, from construction to healthcare, agriculture and technology. Beyond that, Latinos are eager to improve and support their families, compared to the average voter: “ 80 percent of Latino voters report that they would engage in skills training to get a better job or advance in their career, compared to just 63 percent of all voters.” As more and more Hispanics’ businesses enhance the U.S. economy and contribute to American prosperity, Trump should be grateful, not resentful.
Hispanic voters accounted for Trump’s win writ large, believing in his economic and liberty-loving promises. He paid them back by betraying their trust.
Don’t Forget About the Culture War
Granted, the Trump Administration is in a bit of an immigration bind–the Biden Administration created a disastrous situation, during which children’s innocence was weaponized, as hundreds of thousands of unaccompanied children were dumped at the border. Under Biden, asylum and temporary protected status were abused, while most beneficiaries really did not have to even justify why they wanted to enter the United States. That created chaos. Certainly. Neither does it help that Minnesota is a state swarmed with and infested by activists in training, ready to spring into action and oppose any action Trump took in their state.
But, this does not mean we can swoop a blanket of support over all of ICE’s strategies. We have to remember who we are as Americans and what the law tells us. More than the law, we have to remember who we are as human beings.
Back to The Law
Let’s go back to the 1982 landmark Supreme Court case that deserves more attention now than ever: Plyler v. Doe. Simply put, the Court held that states cannot deny public education to children based on their immigration status. As ICE moves further into Minneapolis’ schools, this decision upholds a simple principle of justice: children are not responsible for the actions of their parents, and education is a human right.
The Court recognized something conservatives once understood intuitively—that creating a permanent class of fearful, uneducated children would not strengthen the nation, but corrode it. The opinions asserted during this case remind us of something important: “Public education has a pivotal role in maintaining the fabric of our society and in sustaining our political and cultural heritage; the deprivation of education takes an inestimable toll on the social, economic, intellectual, and psychological wellbeing of the individual, and poses an obstacle to individual achievement.”
With ICE in Minnesota’s schools, let’s remember what the Court
The Call to Moral Conservativism
Let’s remember that politics and Trump are not the higher power. We can hope this administration succeeds. We want secure borders, economic stability, and national renewal. But success worth having must be rooted in justice—justice that does not sacrifice children, hollow out churches, or trade moral clarity for political expedience.
As Catholics, we don’t answer to Trump or the Republican Party. We don’t answer to empty authority or governmental overreach. We are called to justice. Certainly, immigration policy will change, and presidential priorities will come and go. Political victories, while important, will be claimed and undone. Politics are not permanent.
What is, however, permanent is our God and how we choose to wield our earthly power over the vulnerable. One day, we will not be asked whether enforcement was legal, or politically expedient, or electorally effective. We will be asked whom we protected when it was easiest to look away. Borders matter. Law matters. But they do not outrank the moral law written on the human heart.
If conservatism is to remain worthy of its name, it must conserve the basic dignity of every human being. This Administration can enforce the law without losing its soul. The only question is whether we will demand that it does.
