Archbishop Aquila Slams Both Parties Over Immigration Failures Outside ICE Facility in Aurora

At a Stations of the Cross prayer gathering in Aurora, Archbishop Aquila condemns political gamesmanship and calls Catholics to defend the God-given dignity of migrants.

(Photo by André Escaleira, Jr.)

Denver Archbishop Samuel J. Aquila, together with Auxiliary Bishop Jorge Rodríguez, led a Stations of the Cross prayer service around the ICE Detention Facility in Aurora. Several hundred attended the peaceful procession and joined in saintly solidarity with the innumerable immigrants affected by the current immigration crisis.

In his remarks following the Stations of the Cross, printed below in full, Archbishop Aquila lambasted both U.S. political parties for failing immigrants and using them for selfish political gain. He called on those gathered, and indeed, all Catholics, Christians and people of good will to pray and act to defend the dignity of every human person — especially migrants.

“I want to thank all of you for coming today, as we have prayed and walked the stations of the cross. They are reminders to us of God's love for all people and for the immigrant, for the stranger, for those who are sick and suffering, and all of those who are in need of our prayer. And we must remember the dignity of every human being. That dignity is not bestowed by any government. That dignity comes from God and God alone. Both political parties have failed horribly when it comes to immigration. They have treated immigrants as pawns for their own elections, for their own desires, and they have failed every immigrant. Both political parties. Not just one, but both. And they have not served people well. Their only interest is themselves. And that alone. And getting to the next election. And it is important for us as Catholics and as Christians and as people of goodwill to give witness to the dignity of the human person, that every human being, whether they believe it or not, whether they be atheist, agnostic, whether they be Hindu or Muslim, whether they be Jewish or Christian, every human being is created in the image and likeness of God. And it is important to always understand that.  

And God never ever stops loving a human being. No matter who that human being is, no matter who that president may be, no matter who that person in Congress may be, no matter who that world leader may be. God is love, and it is impossible for God to not love. It is human beings who stop loving. It is human beings whose hearts are so hardened that they are rocks. And as God knocks on that door, they still refuse to believe. They still refuse to trust in him. And even though as we have walked this way of the cross and seeing how much God loves us, that he has died for you and your sins. Whether you believe it or not, he has. Whether you receive it or not, he offers it still to you. And what we see in the brokenness of our immigration system is horrendous. Especially when it comes to human trafficking, when it comes to sex trafficking and the trafficking of children, and the trafficking of drugs. That all undermines the dignity of the human person.  

I just learned a couple days ago that there is finally a bill in Congress that is both supported bipartisan, and it is called the Dignity Act. And it is to take care of immigrants who have come to this country. They may not have come with documents, but they have been living here peacefully for 10, 20, 30 years. And many of us know them, and they need a path to citizenship. And the only ones who can mess that up are the political parties and the people of Congress, as they add their special preferences to the bill. If they just did not touch the bill the way it is today, it would be fine. But our system is broken. And it is because we put political parties before the dignity of the human being.  

And so I encourage you, my sisters and brothers, and I thank you for being here today to give witness to the dignity of the human person and to the goodness of every human being from the moment of their conception through natural death. And let us continue to work for the immigrant and to proclaim Jesus Christ, no matter what the cost. May the Lord bless all of you and thank you for your witness.

Amen.”