(LifeSiteNews) — Father Gerald Murray rebuked Father James Martin’s claims on immigration and mass deportations, explaining that the Catholic Church recognizes a nation’s right to determine its immigration policy.
In an interview with Catholic radio host Joe McClane, canon lawyer Murray responded to a viral video by Martin that reached over 2.7 million views on X.
In the video message, Martin claimed that Catholics need to care for migrants and refugees because Jesus Christ Himself was “a refugee,” because Joseph took the Blessed Virgin Mary and Jesus to Egypt to avoid Herod’s murderous plans.
Martin has spoken out against deportations and Trump’s immigration policies multiple times in the past, implying that it is un-Christian to deport illegal immigrants. Similarly, the USCCB called the Trump administration’s immigration policy “deeply troubling.”
In his response to Martin, Murray explained that “the Church teaches that a state has the right and obligation to regulate the life of society, which includes who enters into the jurisdiction, how that’s done, how long they can stay, what reasons are given for it.”
He stressed that “in a democratic society, the citizens have the right to advocate (for) greater or lesser immigration” or no immigration at all.
Murray also noted that it is crucial to distinguish between migrants and refugees.
“Refugees are people who have a legitimate claim to be afraid of persecution or death,” he said. However, “the processing of refugee claims is also subject to law, so the fact that you show up at a border and claim to be a refugee doesn’t entitle you to entrance into that country.”
“Most people who are coming into the United States are economic immigrants. In other words, they are seeking the opportunity to work here and earn more money. Others are criminals seeking to engage in nefarious and illegal activities, so it’s not as simple as saying, if someone’s in distress, they have a right to enter into your country.”
Asked by McClane how a Catholic should feel about “mass deportations,” Murray stressed that the term “mass” does not change the nature of the act, so the question is whether or not deportations are licit in general. He answered in the affirmative when it comes to illegal immigrants. The canon lawyer noted that even people who are poor and in need of help are “not entitled to use illegal means in order to access and gain that help, and that’s what the Church is teaching here.”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC 2241) states regarding immigration:
The more prosperous nations are obliged, to the extent they are able, to welcome the foreigner in search of the security and the means of livelihood which he cannot find in his country of origin. Public authorities should see to it that the natural right is respected that places a guest under the protection of those who receive him.
Political authorities, for the sake of the common good for which they are responsible, may make the exercise of the right to immigrate subject to various juridical conditions, especially with regard to the immigrants’ duties toward their country of adoption. Immigrants are obliged to respect with gratitude the material and spiritual heritage of the country that receives them, to obey its laws and to assist in carrying civic burdens.
READ: JD Vance slams USCCB for open borders hypocrisy during CBS interview
Murray stressed that prosperous nations have an obligation to welcome foreigners only if their immigration policy does not harm “the social welfare” of their citizens.
“We can’t solve the problem of every society around us by simply taking in their refugees,” he said. “In fact, Cardinal Sarah has said in one of his books that it does a disservice to third-world countries” to have “loose immigration policy” because many of “the educated people will want to leave those poor countries and come to America.”
He acknowledged that it is “a complicated question,” but one cannot simply say, as Martin suggested, that “it’s a sin to turn poor people away who show up and try to illegally enter the country.”
“If we let every single poor person from the world into the country, we would destroy the United States as a society, and that is certainly not an obligation; in fact, that would be a neglect on the part of our government,” the canon lawyer stated.
Murray mentioned that the Vatican under Pope Francis recently enacted stricter penalties for those who enter into its territory in areas that are not free to everyone, implying that regulating migration “is a legitimate and moral thing to do.”
McClane asked Murray what he thought about Vice President JD Vance’s criticism of the USCCB for rejecting the Trump administration’s plan to deport illegal aliens.
The canon lawyer said that he agreed with Vance and said that it’s disappointing to hear that the U.S. bishops would reproach politicians for deporting illegal immigrants. He cited Venezuelan criminal gangs as an example of people who should be deported. He said that if it is demonstrated that someone is in the U.S. illegally or has committed a crime, “it’s morally justified to remove that person from the country.”