{"id":501295,"date":"2026-10-19T19:02:10","date_gmt":"2026-10-19T19:02:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/501295\/"},"modified":"2026-10-19T19:02:10","modified_gmt":"2026-10-19T19:02:10","slug":"fresno-bishop-joseph-brennan-pastoral-letter-tackles-ice-raids","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/501295\/","title":{"rendered":"Fresno Bishop Joseph Brennan pastoral letter tackles ICE raids"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bishop Joseph Brennan of the Diocese of Fresno, California, warned that immigration raids in California\u2019s Central Valley are instilling \u201cunrest, anxiety and even fear\u201d in the community and that many of his priests are reporting that their parishes have been affected.<\/p>\n

\u201cEven if you have not been personally affected by the increased immigration enforcement in our region, many of those who sit alongside you in the pews have been affected, with some already having been detained,\u201d wrote Brennan, whose diocese covers a large portion of the southern Central Valley.<\/p>\n

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) have not announced any specific operations targeting California or its Central Valley. However, local media have reported a surge in enforcement in recent weeks.<\/p>\n

In his pastoral letter<\/a>, Brennan said pastors reported to him that \u201cmembers of their congregations have been taken away abruptly and with little or no information coming from federal agents.\u201d He said he has been in contact with priests and interfaith and advocacy partners about ways to \u201chelp, comfort and accompany our people\u201d amid the reported surge.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt breaks my heart,\u201d the bishop wrote. \u201c… Many of those caught up in this recent immigration enforcement in our Valley are not strangers to us \u2014 they are family, neighbors, and parishioners who are being uprooted from the lives they have built over many years among us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Indiscriminate\u2019 raids<\/p>\n

Brennan noted that the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) voted 216-5 to approve a special message that the bishops oppose \u201cthe indiscriminate mass deportation of people\u201d<\/a> during the 2025 Fall Plenary Assembly. He then expressed concern that Central Valley raids appear to be indiscriminate.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese people are valued and beloved, they are part of the fabric of our community,\u201d he said. \u201cIt is frightening to them and disturbing to us that these current operations seem to have taken on an indiscriminate nature with little regard for the dignity of the human person.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOur Church teaches that every human person possesses an inherent dignity,\u201d the bishop continued. \u201cThis dignity is not granted by governments, economic status, citizenship, or legal documentation. It is given by God.\u201d<\/p>\n

A spokesperson for DHS did not confirm any specific operation targeting California.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor operational security and the safety of our officers, ICE will not disclose or discuss law enforcement operations,\u201d the spokesperson said. \u201cEvery day, DHS enforces the laws of the nation across the country including in California.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spokesperson defended ongoing immigration enforcement: \u201cTo most Americans our ICE officers are heroes as they put their lives on the line to arrest murderers, rapists, pedophiles, gang members, and terrorists.\u201d<\/p>\n

The spokesperson provided a list of five people they labeled as \u201cpublic safety threats\u201d arrested in California, which included people convicted of vehicular manslaughter, aggravated assault with a gun, burglary, homicide, and selling drugs.<\/p>\n

Church \u2018will not be silent\u2019<\/p>\n

In his pastoral letter, Brennan said the Church \u201cwill not be silent\u201d and \u201cwill accompany our vulnerable neighbors in concrete, sustained ways.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will strive to be a loving presence in our society for our brothers and sisters,\u201d Brennan said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur parishes will be present to them for healing and comfort,\u201d he said. \u201cAccompaniment might take the shape of walking with families through long and complicated legal proceedings, showing up at immigration court, organizing transportation and childcare, and refusing to let anyone face this situation alone. We will speak up for them and will encourage one another to see this work of justice as a part of our baptismal call.<\/p>\n

Accompaniment might take the shape of walking with families through long and complicated legal proceedings, showing up at immigration court, organizing transportation and childcare, and refusing to let anyone face this situation alone. We will speak up for them and will encourage one another to see this work of justice as a part of our baptismal call.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bishop called for \u201creal change and real reform,\u201d saying \u201cour country and our elected officials must do better,\u201d calling for \u201ctangible results that reflect meaningful and just immigration reform.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cUntil such reform is achieved, the dignity of our immigrant brothers and sisters must remain in the forefront of whatever shape our efforts might take,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIn the midst of those efforts, to be sure, we are navigating in a chaotic and emotionally charged time. I encourage the faithful to pray for one another and to act out of a spirit of communion in all things, bridging divisions and treating one another peacefully and with compassion.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are in this together,\u201d Brennan wrote. \u201cGod bless you and those you love, always and in every way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\t\t\t\"author<\/p>\n

\t\t\tTyler Arnold is a staff reporter for Catholic News Agency, based in EWTN News\u2019 Washington Bureau. He previously worked at The Center Square and has been published in a variety of outlets, including The Associated Press, National Review, The American Conservative, and The Federalist.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bishop Joseph Brennan of the Diocese of Fresno, California, warned that immigration raids in California\u2019s Central Valley are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":501296,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[31],"tags":[112,114,113],"class_list":["post-501295","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fresno","tag-fresno","tag-fresno-headlines","tag-fresno-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501295","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=501295"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/501295\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/501296"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=501295"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=501295"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=501295"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}