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Several US Catholic bishops slammed the actions of Republican politicians who have recently begun to ship migrants seeking refuge out of their states, saying using them as political pawns “offends God”.
The bishops said these politicians are falsely telling the migrants that work, food and other benefits await them if they get on planes to other locales, but instead the only thing they find at the other end of the trip is confusion.
“To use migrants and refugees as pawns offends God, destroys society and shows how low individuals can (stoop) for personal gains,” wrote San Antonio Archbishop Gustavo García-Siller on Twitter 18 September.
García-Siller was one of several bishops to speak out after the latest drop-off of migrants, mostly Venezuelans who were flown by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis on 14 September to Martha’s Vineyard in Massachusetts.
More than 6 million people have fled Venezuela because of political turmoil that has sent the country into an economic spiral, causing what the UN refugee agency calls the “second-largest external displacement crisis in the world”.
Though many have fled to nearby countries, others with family in the US have opted to make the long trip north.
The Texas archbishop said the tactics to ship them off elsewhere “promote human trafficking,” and he called out the “sick actions” of political leaders who do “little about the issue”.
Some of the migrants have been sent from border states such as Texas and Arizona to Washington and New York in planes and sometimes buses. Some were recently dropped off near Vice President Kamala Harris’ residence in Washington without prior notice to local officials.
Volunteers in those cities, including faith-based nonprofits such as Catholic charities, have scrambled to help the newcomers confused by the situation.
“The problem is not the refugees, it is leaders that cannot accept: We are one with humanity,” Archbishop García-Siller said, adding that he would be praying for “conversion of heart” and for the protection of brothers and sisters in need.
Republican politicians such as DeSantis, a Catholic, have followed the lead of Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, also a Catholic and a Republican, who first began moving groups of migrants in the summer.
Abbott said the move was to protest the Biden administration’s stance to allow in refugees and other migrants – and to give politicians who support allowing migrants into the country a taste of what border states, such as Texas, deal with daily when large groups of people pour in.
However, the group DeSantis sent to Martha’s Vineyard is believed to have originated in San Antonio, not Florida.
San Antonio’s Garcia-Siller, said on Twitter that “Texas is not overwhelmed by refugees”.
Another Texas prelate, Brownsville Bishop Daniel E Flores, said on Twitter on 16 September that “the degrading disrespect with which immigrants are treated in this country — like pawns in games of political showmanship — is a disgrace.
“Are we so drunk on our own power that we are blind to basic human dignity? Judgment on Christians who disrespect the poor will be most severe,” he said.
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