WASHINGTON—Asked about a Catholic bishop in California who told illegal immigrants they no longer have to go to Sunday mass, White House Border Czar Tom Homan did not mince words.
“This is BS,” he told The Daily Wire in response to news that San Bernardino Bishop Alberto Rojas issued a decree on July 8 dispensing those in his diocese from attending Mass “due to potential immigration enforcement actions by civil authorities” if they have “genuine fear of immigration enforcement actions.” His dispensation is in effect until “such time as this decree is revoked or amended.”
The bishop was referring to President Donald Trump’s immigration actions, which include ICE raids throughout the country. Rojas stated that he is “guided by the Church’s mission to care for the spiritual welfare of all entrusted to my care, particularly those who face fear or hardship.”
Homan dismissed the announcement, saying, “I do not know of a single incident of a church arrest.”
The bishop’s decree may stem in part from the Trump administration’s reversal of a Biden-era policy blocking immigration officials from making arrests at schools, houses of worship, or other “sensitive locations.” The Department of Homeland Security said in January that it would not “tie the hands of our brave law enforcement, and instead trusts them to use common sense.”
“We would only go in if there was a violent criminal who was actively hiding out there or something,” Homeland Security spokeswoman Tricia McLaughlin told The Daily Wire, suggesting that an arrest at a church only might occur if an MS-13 gang member was inside.
The Diocese of San Bernardino did not immediately respond to a request for comment from The Daily Wire.
