The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) has issued a Special Message regarding immigration during its Fall Plenary Assembly in Baltimore. This is the first time since 2013 that the bishops have used this form of urgent communication, which is reserved for matters deemed especially significant by the conference.

According to USCCB procedures, a Special Message can only be adopted at plenary assemblies and requires approval from at least two-thirds of voting members present. The measure passed with 216 votes in favor, 5 against, and 3 abstentions, followed by sustained applause from those assembled.

The full text of the message states: "As pastors, we the bishops of the United States are bound to our people by ties of communion and compassion in Our Lord Jesus Christ. We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement. We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care. We lament that some immigrants in the United States have arbitrarily lost their legal status. We are troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools. We are grieved when we meet parents who fear being detained when taking their children to school and when we try to console family members who have already been separated from their loved ones."

The USCCB's statement reflects ongoing concerns within religious communities about immigrant rights, conditions in detention centers, access to pastoral care, family separations, and challenges facing immigrants' legal status.