“Three prominent, right-wing, Catholic governors — Ron DeSantis of Florida, Greg Abbott of Texas, and Doug Ducey of Arizona — have been making headlines for brazenly abusing migrants to score political points. And the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) hasn’t said a word about these shockingly cruel attacks on migrant families.
Last week, DeSantis tricked at least 50 asylum seekers into boarding a plane to the island of Martha’s Vineyard, MA — leading them to believe that the flight was actually to Boston and cruelly promising them shelter and assistance that didn’t exist. Abbott and Ducey have likewise bused thousands of migrants to northern cities without any plan in place to greet or care for them once they got there.
These relocation transports by MAGA governors aren’t without tragic — and racist — precedent. During the 1960s, southern segregationists orchestrated “Reverse Freedom Rides,” pushing hundreds of Black citizens to board one-way buses to northern cities and falsely promising them jobs and housing once they got there.
Catholic social teaching couldn’t be clearer on treating migrants with understanding and respect. The USCCB’s own website states that “we cannot excuse inhumane treatment of certain persons by claiming that their lack of legal status deprives them of rights given by the Creator.”” 1