Vice President J.D. Vance fired back at the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops over his denunciation of the Trump administration's ruling allowing ice raids in churches and schools.
Last week, the religious group criticized the move to “turn places of care, healing and isolation into places of fear and uncertainty for those in need” and warned that it compromised “trust between pastors” and “the people they serve”.
“As a practicing Catholic, I was actually saddened by that statement,” Vance, 40, told CBS News' “Face the Nation” in an interview that aired Sunday.
“I think the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops needs to look in the mirror a little bit and realize that when they receive over $100 million to help resettle illegal immigrants. Are they concerned about humanitarian concerns? Or are they actually concerned about the bottom line?” he asked.
“If they're worried about the humanitarian costs of immigration enforcement, let them talk about the children being trafficked because of Joe Biden's wide open borders,” the Catholic group's added.
Supervisor Margaret Brennan pressed Vance on whether the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops was “actively hiding criminals from law enforcement,” but the vice president was evasive.
“I think the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, frankly, has not been a good partner in the common-sense immigration enforcement that the American people voted into, and I hope, again, as a devout Catholic, that they will do it better,” he explained.
Brennan also pressed Vance on whether a tough immigration policy would have a chilling effect that could make parents reluctant to send their children to school.
“I very much hope it will have a chilling effect,” he returned to “illegal immigrants coming into our country.”
Vance was baptized a Catholic in 2019 after being an evangelical Protestant. Billionaire art tycoon Pete Thiel was reportedly influential in Vance's decision to transfer.
President Trump, who grew up a Presbyterian and now considers himself a non-storey Christian, has previously clashed with leadership in the Catholic Church, including Pope Francis.
Francis recently criticized Trump's mass deportation plans as a “sample.” First Lady Melania Trump is Catholic.
Last week, Trump and Vance were lectured at their inaugural prayer service by the Right Reverend Marian Edgar, the Episcopal bishop of Washington, D.C. Budde begged the president to have “mercy for the people in our country who are afraid right now,” including transgender people.
Vance, in an interview with CBS, also emphasized that the administration “has empowered law enforcement to enforce the law everywhere, and protect Americans.”
“This is a unique country, and it was founded by some immigrants and some settlers. But just because we were founded by immigrants, doesn't mean that 240 years later, we should have the stupidest immigration policy in the world.”
The vice president also defended Trump's move to suspend the US refugee admissions program, with some points, while his administration studies the issue.
Brennan argued that refugees are “heavily vetted” and often take 18 to 24 months to arrive.
“I don't agree that all of these immigrants, or all of these refugees, have been properly screened. In fact, we know that there have been cases of people who were allegedly properly screened and then were literally planning terrorist attacks in our country.”
“We can never unleash thousands of unrestrained people into our country,” he added. “I don't want my kids to share a neighborhood with people who haven't been properly vetted.”
Vance's wide-ranging interview with “Face the Nation” marks his first major televised interview since being sworn in as vice president.
