![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CR-TXMX-Bishops.5.jpg\")
The Rev. Gustavo Garcia-Siller, archbishop of San Antonio and coordinator of the Tex-Mex Bishops, speaks about \u201ca new chapter of immigration\u201d under the President Donald Trump administration, Feb. 27, 2026. (Cindy Ramirez \/ El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n
On Friday, they spoke primarily on immigration and the rapidly changing landscape impacting people in the United States and Mexico. They also touched on the violence in Mexico following the killing of Mexican cartel leader Nemesio Rub\u00e9n \u201cEl Mencho\u201d Oseguera Cervantes and the need for an ongoing pastoral response to affected communities.<\/p>\n
The group was outspoken about what they called a new chapter of migration, saying it has been largely provoked by the political unrest, poverty and violence in migrants\u2019 countries of origin but also by what Garcia-Siller called \u201cunjust, unlawful and wrong, irrational laws of the United States of America that is asking us to see differently, to find new ways of how to be in action in favor of our brothers and sisters who are in suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n
READ MORE: DHS buys El Paso warehouses for $123 million ICE mega detention center as deportation capacity expands nationwide<\/a><\/p>\n Since taking office in January 2025, President Donald Trump\u2019s administration has shifted immigration enforcement from the border to the interior of the country, focusing on mass detention and deportation operations, and expanded arrests at immigration courts, workplaces and on the streets. The administration has restricted asylum and rolled back temporary protected status for hundreds of thousands of people.<\/p>\n Lawmakers, advocacy groups and residents who oppose the current enforcement tactics have raised alarms about due process and human rights violations, sparking protests and pushback against the administration\u2019s practices. Supporters of the stepped-up enforcement argue it\u2019s necessary to protect public safety and deter illegal immigration, especially after years of high migrant arrivals.<\/p>\n El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz pointed to immigrant ministries within the diocese and area nonprofit organizations where people can volunteer to provide hospitality, support for legal services and engage in advocacy, including Estrella del Paso<\/a>, Annunciation House<\/a> and Hope Border Institute<\/a>.<\/a> He said volunteers have been accompanying people to immigration court<\/a>, and that the diocese is creating a network of volunteers to reach out to families who have had relatives detained by immigration officers \u2013 especially those who have lost the breadwinners.<\/p>\n SEE ALSO: Dismissed, then detained: Immigrants face swift deportation after El Paso court hearings<\/a><\/p>\n Two bishops from Mexico \u2013 the Rev. Alfonso Gerardo Miranda Guardiola of Piedras Negras and the Rev. Francisco Gallardo of Matamoros-Reynosa \u2013 touched on the state of migration in Mexico. They said Mexico\u2019s churches welcome migrants with open arms, particularly when many have experienced kidnapping, violence and extortion on their journeys.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the trenches they know how to help, care for, protect and integrate migrants in our communities, men and women in search of a better life,\u201d Gallardo said.<\/p>\n The bishops pointed out that Ciudad Ju\u00e1rez is not seeing the number of migrants it expected \u2013 either coming north from South or Central America or being deported from the United States.<\/p>\n The discussions during the week drew from the two recent documents from the U.S. Catholic bishops: the November Special Message<\/a> from the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops on immigration, and the Statement of 20 U.S. Catholic Bishops<\/a> on recommended immigration enforcement reform.<\/p>\n In the statement issued Feb. 24, before Trump\u2019s State of the Union address, the bishops urged federal leaders to pursue immigration policies that uphold the dignity of migrants and refugees.\u00a0<\/p>\n They called for restoring access to asylum at the border, safeguarding due process and protecting family unity, while cautioning against enforcement actions that target law-abiding immigrants or instill fear in communities. The bishops also pressed for limits on detention \u2014 particularly for vulnerable people \u2014 and for the protection of sensitive locations such as churches and schools.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/CR-TXMX-Bishops.4.jpg\")
From left, San Antonio Archbishop the Rev. Gustavo Garcia-Siller, El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz and the Rev. Alfonso Gerardo Miranda Guardiola, bishop of Piedras Negras, M\u00e9xico, Feb. 27, 2026. (Cindy Ramirez \/ El Paso Matters)<\/p>\n