The following statement was written as an op-ed by Bishop Joseph J. Tyson, bishop of the Diocese of Yakima, Washington, and the Episcopal Moderator of Catholic Climate Covenant. It was published by National Catholic Reporter.
It is hard to watch Alex Pretti’s death. We see him attempt to record ICE activities on a phone; we see him try to help two women pushed to the ground by federal agents. And then we see a brutal horror unfold.
Jesus said to tend the sick, visit the prisoner, welcome the stranger. He said whatever we do to the most vulnerable of our people, we do to him. Who do we see as Alex Pretti is shot to death?
Who do we see in the photo of a detained 5-year old Liam Ramos? There are no photos or videos for most of the 3,800 children that the Deportation Data Project reports ICE has detained. Who will bear witness for them? We saw the image of ICE agents forcing an elderly U.S. citizen into the snow, barely clothed, after reportedly beating his door down without a warrant and holding him at gunpoint. A citizen! What is happening when no one is recording?
We were told that the government would focus on deporting violent criminals. So why is ICE targeting churches and school pickups? Why are they arresting people at immigration court hearings before their case has even been heard? These people are following the law to earn legal status. In fact, the percentage of detainees with violent criminal records is around 5 or 7%, according to recent analyses from The Cato Institute and The New York Times, respectively.
The government is also revoking the legal status of thousands of people so they can be pushed out of our country. This may impact more than 1.5 million immigrants. The federal government is ripping families apart and abusing human dignity, and this is an affront to our moral consciences as Catholic bishops. “We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said. “We pray for an end to dehumanizing rhetoric and violence.” Cardinal Robert McElroy of the Archdiocese of Washington clearly named what is happening: a “governmental assault designed to produce fear and terror among millions of men and women.”
The governmental assault is not just happening in LA and Chicago. It is happening all across our country, including in my rural diocese of central Washington state.
We would never know about these assaults on our morality if not for witnesses like Alex Pretti. His example reminds me to check on parishioners and neighbors. I still do not know the whereabouts of my parishioner José López, who was mistakenly apprehended in September. How hard this long silence must be for his loved ones.
I thank God for witnesses. It can be dangerous to shine a light on that which the powerful would hide. The Greek word “martyr” translates to “witness.” The tragic death of witnesses like Mr. Pretti and Ms. Renee Good reveals the darkness around them.
If you are understandably afraid to bear physical witness to those suffering from ICE’s tactics, stay informed. Pray with your voice and your feet. This week, Congress is considering more funding for the Department of Homeland Security after ICE’s budget was increased tenfold last year. I echo my brother bishop, Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, who recently spoke to grassroots leaders: “Will you contact your congressional representatives? We ask them, for the love of God and the love of human beings — which can’t be separated — to vote against renewing funding for such a lawless organization.”
Though we are not all called to be martyrs, we are all called to be witnesses. If you are a person of faith, it is more important than ever to view politics through the lens of that faith, and not the other way around.
Jesus said to his disciples, “Blessed are the eyes that see what you see.” I pray that each of us has the courage to keep our eyes open.
