ST. PETERSBURG, Fla. — Catholic bishops in Florida are asking for a pause on immigration enforcement for the holidays. They sent a letter to President Donald Trump and Gov. Ron DeSantis with the request.

What You Need To Know

The Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops made an appeal to the president and governor to pause immigration enforcement during the holidays

Eight bishops from around Florida, including St. Petersburg and Orlando, signed the appeal

They argue the border is secure and enforcement efforts are now leading to the arrest of immigrants who haven’t committed crimes

A White House spokesperson has said President Trump is keeping his promise to deport criminal illegal aliens

“A pause during this holy season can lower the temperature within our partisan divisions, ease the fear and anxiety present in many of our immigrant and even non-immigrant families and allow all of us to celebrate with greater joy the advent of the Prince of Peace,” the appeal reads.

Eight bishops from around Florida, including St. Petersburg’s Gregory Parkes and Orlando’s John Noonan, signed it. It’s a move that’s being praised by religious leaders in St. Petersburg.

“I’m thrilled with what they did,” said Rev. Ben Atherton-Zeman of the Unitarian Universalist Church of St. Petersburg. “I stand side by side with my Catholic brothers and sisters on many issues, and this is one of them.”

But the White House is showing no signs of backing down. A spokesperson told the Associated Press via e-mail, “President Trump was elected based on his promise to the American people to deport criminal illegal aliens. And he’s keeping that promise.”

The letter from the Florida Conference of Catholic Bishops argues that enforcement operations are now leading to the arrest of people who aren’t criminals.

“It’s not asking them to reverse their policies, which we hope they would, but we’re just asking them for a pause so that we can get beyond the Christmas holidays without people being paralyzed by fear,” said Archbishop Thomas Wenski of the Archdiocese of Miami.

The DeSantis administration has not yet indicated if they will be changing enforcement protocols during the timeframe requested in the letter.