Archbishop Paul Coakley, the new president of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, attended a private meeting with President Donald Trump and Vice President JD Vance, along with other members of the administration, at the White House on Monday. As of this writing, no one knows what topics the meeting covered, but based on many of the comments the USCCB has made over the last year, immigration likely topped the list.
The only confirmed detail about the conversation is that the participants addressed areas of “mutual concern.” The USCCB has clashed with the Trump administration over its attempts to crack down on illegal immigration and over federal funding allocated to the organization.
“Archbishop Coakley had the opportunity for introductory meetings with President Trump, Vice President Vance, and other Administration officials, in which they discussed areas of mutual concern, as well as areas for further dialogue,” the USCCB stated in a post on X. “Archbishop Coakley is grateful for the engagement and looks forward to ongoing discussions.”
When Trump was inaugurated in January 2025, his administration took a meat cleaver to funding for both the USCCB and other Catholic Charities. Many practicing Catholics shredded that move because those organizations had used the funds to provide aid tied to illegal immigration. Catholics tend to hold a more liberal view of immigration than many other Christians, though official Church teaching clearly states that a nation has the right to create borders, protect them, and enforce immigration law.
I support the humane treatment of illegal aliens, especially those who crossed the border illegally but have no ties to criminal gangs or cartels. However, illegal immigration caused a massive spike in violent crime across the country and placed a significant financial burden on taxpayers, draining resources that should have gone to help American citizens.
Trump has sought to address that problem. Given the lack of support and cooperation from cities where illegal immigration poses a major issue, the president has taken drastic measures to deport those who remain in the country without legal permission and to enforce the laws already on the books. Some people view those actions as cruelty, but they are not. Deporting illegal aliens does not violate Church teaching or the principles found in Sacred Scripture.
For those unfamiliar with Catholic Charities, the organization manages day-to-day care for many unaccompanied alien children. Along with the USCCB, Catholic Charities has received a total of $449 million from the federal government over the years to provide shelter and resources and to transport these individuals.
Critics have also slammed Catholic Charities for placing children with sponsors who were not properly vetted, even after reports surfaced that some of the kids were sex trafficked, forced into labor, or subjected to other horrific abuse.
The USCCB has released several statements condemning the Trump administration’s handling of illegal immigration, including one message that stated, “Catholic teaching exhorts nations to recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants.”
“We bishops advocate for a meaningful reform of our nation’s immigration laws and procedures. Human dignity and national security are not in conflict. Both are possible if people of good will work together … We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people,” the statement added.
Mass deportations of millions of illegal aliens who should never have been allowed into the country—much of which rests on the disastrously bad policies of former Presidents Joe Biden and Barack Obama—do not strip people of their dignity. They enforce a nation’s laws. Open-border policies like those of Trump’s predecessor pose a serious risk not only to national security but also to the American way of life.
One need only look at Europe to see the consequences of open borders. Radical Islamists have practically invaded major countries such as the United Kingdom and Germany, transforming the cultural landscape to resemble the very nations they fled. Not all cultures are equal. Some are good, some are great, and some are awful. Sharia law and Islamic culture tend to fall squarely into the latter category.
Archbishop Coakley has also criticized Trump’s immigration policies. During a December 2025 interview with CBS’s Face the Nation, Coakley condemned the administration’s deportation operations, claiming they are “instilling fear in a rather widespread manner,” and added, “People have a right to live in security and without fear of random deportations.”
Coakley did not mention the dangers posed by mass illegal immigration, including the displacement of American workers and the violent crimes committed by MS-13 gang members who entered the United States illegally.
Not every bishop drinks the USCCB Kool-Aid. Bishop Joseph Strickland has repeatedly denounced the organization for urging Catholics to welcome “migrants” and oppose immigration enforcement while remaining silent about the hordes of criminals who have crossed the border illegally.
“You harm the little ones when you promote lawlessness and turn a blind eye to the rapes, the murders and the attacks of nefarious criminals who waltz across open borders,” Strickland stated back in November.
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