As President Donald Trump pursues an aggressive crackdown on migrants during the first few weeks of his second term, local church and community leaders have voiced concerns.

 

The new administration's immigration enforcement blitz has included a ramping up of ICE arrests — including sensitive locations like schools and churches — and just this week orders for the construction of a detention facility at the U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as well as the signing of a new law, the Laken Riley Act, which empowers immigration officers to detain unauthorized immigrants when they are arrested on criminal charges. 

 

Bishop Edgar M. da Cunha of the Diocese of Fall River weighed in on these recent changes Friday, Jan. 31, issuing the following statement:

 

"A foundational teaching of our Catholic faith makes clear that every person from conception to natural death is made in the image and likeness of God and, as such, deserves to be treated with dignity. It is through this lens that we are called to reflect not only on our own actions but also on those of our society including our government.

 

In its first weeks, the new Administration in Washington, D.C. has prioritized immigration enforcement through new orders, and an emphasis on the need for mass deportations.

 

Read more at heraldnews.com.