AILSA CHANG, HOST:
Today, Pope Francis released a strongly worded letter on immigration in the U.S. He's taking to task the Trump administration's stance on migrants, calling mass deportations a, quote, "major crisis." Joining us now to discuss that letter and what led to it is NPR religion correspondent Jason DeRose. Hi, Jason.
JASON DEROSE, BYLINE: Hello.
CHANG: OK, so let's start with the letter itself. What exactly does Francis say in it?
DEROSE: Well, the pope writes that it's wrong to conflate someone's immigration status with criminality. Francis says that deporting people who fled their homeland because of exploitation and persecution, quote, "damages the dignity of those people and places them in vulnerable and defenseless positions." And he specifically refers to a story from the Bible, that Jesus and his parents had to flee Egypt because King Herod wanted to find this baby and kill him. And he calls Jesus, Mary and Joseph immigrants in Egypt and refugees there to escape an ungodly king.
CHANG: And this letter, I know it comes a little after some comments that Vice President JD Vance made about immigration and Catholic teaching, right? Can you talk about what he said?
DEROSE: So a few weeks ago, Vance said two things - one, that it was a Christian teaching that people should love their families and neighbors and community before loving people from other countries. And two, Vance said that the U.S. Catholic bishops were only upset about the Trump administration had - that they had stopped the U.S. Refugee Resettlement Program because they were concerned about their bottom line. That's because the Catholic Church received millions of dollars each year from the federal government to help resettle refugees.
CHANG: Right. And how did Pope Francis respond to those comments?
DEROSE: Well, very specifically in this letter - the pope writes, Christian love is not a concentric expansion of interests that little by little extend to other persons and groups. He again turns to a story from the Bible - this time, the parable of the good Samaritan from the Gospel of Luke. Francis writes that by meditating on that story of the neighbor being the one who cares for someone in desperate need, that love builds fraternity open to all without exception. And he calls on all Catholics to refuse to give into narratives that discriminate and cause unnecessary suffering to migrants and refugees. And then, Ailsa, later today, Trump's border czar, Tom Homan, who's Catholic, responded by saying, the pope should stick to the church and fix that.
CHANG: Well, Jason, I also understand that this letter comes at the same time, the same day, that a number of other religious groups filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration, right? What is the focus of that lawsuit?
DEROSE: Well, more than two dozen religious groups, some entire denominations, are suing the Department of Homeland Security and other officials because the administration has rescinded long-standing guidance that had prevented immigration officers from entering sensitive locations. Those locations include schools and hospitals and also houses of worship. The lawsuit says such immigration enforcement actions could interrupt religious services in order to carry out the administration's stated goal of mass deportations. And they say they've seen lower attendance because people fear arrest. And, Ailsa, among the plaintiffs are the Episcopal Church, the Union for Reform Judaism, Mennonite Church USA and the Latino Christian National Network. And the administration, Ailsa, has yet to respond to the suit.
CHANG: A lot of plaintiffs. That is NPR religion correspondent, Jason DeRose. Thank you, Jason.
DEROSE: You're welcome.
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