Bishop Alberto Rojas of the Diocese of San Bernardino has strongly criticized recent immigration enforcement actions on church properties in California, calling them contrary to the spirit of the Gospel and damaging to vulnerable communities. In a heartfelt message issued on June 23, the bishop condemned the growing presence of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents in sacred and pastoral spaces, saying such tactics are sowing “fear, confusion, and anxiety” among immigrant families.
The controversy stems from incidents on June 20, when ICE officers reportedly entered the properties of St. Adelaide Church in Highland and Our Lady of Lourdes Church in Montclair. According to diocesan officials, several individuals were detained in the parking lot of St. Adelaide. Although those individuals were not parishioners or church employees, the situation escalated further when a confirmed parishioner was apprehended at Our Lady of Lourdes Church.
John Andrews, spokesperson for the Diocese, clarified that ICE actions did not target clergy or staff, but the mere presence of agents on church property has shaken the sense of safety among immigrant communities.
Bishop Rojas, who leads the sixth-largest Catholic diocese in the U.S., issued a public message denouncing these actions as unjust and inconsistent with Christian values. “What we are witnessing,” he wrote, “is a disregard for due process and human dignity these are our brothers and sisters in Christ, and their fear is real.”
He voiced deep solidarity with those facing these tactics, describing them as “traumatizing” and a burden the Church must help carry. While acknowledging the legitimate role of law enforcement in protecting communities from dangerous individuals, Bishop Rojas drew a line at actions that harm innocent families and create a climate of fear.
“Detaining people at their homes, workplaces, and now at churches places meant to be sanctuaries has gone too far,” he said.
Bishop Rojas made it clear that the Gospel does not support such methods. “These tactics do not reflect the love, mercy, and justice of Jesus Christ. We must always be guided by the Gospel in every decision and action,” he stressed. For many immigrants, the Church represents a refuge of peace and hope; its violation, he warned, risks alienating the very people the Church is called to serve.
Calling for a shift in policy, the bishop appealed to elected officials to reconsider the approach of ICE operations and instead work toward humane, respectful, and rights-based immigration reform. He urged leaders to create a system that “respects the dignity of every human being” and promotes unity rather than division.
He also addressed those organizing protests against ICE activity, encouraging them to act with dignity, nonviolence, and respect, warning that destruction or aggression will only deepen societal divides.
Bishop Rojas closed his message with a reflection inspired by Pope Francis, who once shared with him that his greatest concern for the Church was internal division. “It is painful,” Rojas said, “to witness such fractures among God’s people. We must be bridges, not barriers.”
In the spirit of the Jubilee Year of Hope, he called on all faithful to share the hope of Christ as an answer to the suffering, fear, and discord gripping their communities. “Hope is our response,” he wrote, “to a world desperate for healing.”
With a prophetic voice rooted in compassion, Bishop Rojas' message is a call not only for policy change but for a return to Gospel values in the treatment of migrants and refugees especially on sacred ground.