Bishop Seitz Encouraging ICE Officers To Question Their Orders

Bishop Mark Seitz of El Paso, Texas, said law enforcement agents must “evaluate everything in the light of Christ” while discerning actions in regard to immigration enforcement.

Seitz issued the first pastoral letter on mass detention and deportations on March 14. The letter followed the special message the U.S. bishops released in November 2025 expressing opposition to “indiscriminate mass deportations.”

In his pastoral letter Seitz wrote: The “current national campaign of mass detention and detention is a grave moral evil, one which must be opposed, with prayer, peaceful action, and acts of solidarity with those affected.”

In the Catholic Church, “a grave moral evil” could indicate mortal sin. When asked if agents may need to disobey orders, or even leave their jobs, to avoid mortal sin, Seitz said: “I think the first thing that is most important is that you can’t put your conscience on hold if you’re a disciple of Jesus Christ.”

“You have to evaluate everything in the light of Christ, and in the light of his teaching, and the teaching of the Church,” he said. “You can’t just say, ‘Well, it’s a job’ or ‘These are my orders.’ I’m not saying anything morally that has not been said before. It’s part of the military code, that a soldier should not follow an immoral order.”

In a March 25 interview with “EWTN News Nightly,” Seitz further spoke about the matter, saying: “No one should ever act against the dictates of a well-informed conscience, and we all have a responsibility to form our consciences according to the law of God.”

“That’s actually part of the code, that no soldier should follow an order if it is something calling them to do something that they consider immoral,” Seitz said.

Continue reading at Catholic World Report
 

TAKE ACTION: Contact Bishop Seitz at 915-872-8419 or officeofthebishop@elpasodiocese.org and tell him to get out of the business of trafficking illegal aliens.