In Anti-Catholic Crusade, Trump's ICE Targets Holy Mass in Chicago
Worshippers fled in fear as immigration agents appeared outside St. Jerome’s — part of Trump’s new campaign against Catholic parishes nationwide.
Last Sunday in Chicago’s Rogers Park neighborhood, a routine Spanish-language Mass turned into a scene of quiet panic.
At St. Jerome Catholic Church, the priest paused the liturgy to deliver an unsettling alert: federal immigration agents were reportedly nearby, so parishioners should leave cautiously after Mass.
Video captured the moment as families — many with undocumented loved ones – realized their worst fears.
“They were inside, scared to come out,” recalled a neighbor named Julie who witnessed the scene.
Outside, concerned neighbors quickly formed a human chain to escort the worshippers home safely.
The neighborhood had reason to be on edge — Julie believes agents had been “casing the church” and noted someone was picked up by ICE in the area just a week before.
A Nationwide Crackdown on Immigrant Catholics
What happened at St. Jerome’s is not an isolated incident — it’s part of a broader campaign under Donald Trump that increasingly entangles Catholic parishes in immigration enforcement.
Trump’s administration has reversed prior policies that treated churches as off-limits, meaning even sanctuaries are no longer guaranteed safe ground.
This year, at least two Catholic dioceses (in California and Tennessee) took the extraordinary step of dispensing immigrants from the obligation to attend Sunday Mass if they fear ICE raids.
First Time Ever: Bishop Lifts Sunday Mass Obligation Over ICE Fears
In Trump-Vance’s America, Catholics are too afraid to worship. The Church is now responding.
It’s a drastic measure that speaks to the climate of fear in immigrant-heavy congregations. As Jesuit writer Fr. James Martin noted, “It is a dramatic sign that not even Catholic churches are considered safe places any longer.”
The Catholic Church’s leadership has pushed back, stressing that while nations have a right to enforce laws, human dignity and religious freedom must be upheld. Yet the Trump team’s stance remains defiant.
Trump’s Catholic ‘Border Czar’ vs. the Church
Ironically, the man spearheading these hardline tactics is himself Catholic.
Tom Homan, President Trump’s hand-picked “border czar” effectively running ICE’s efforts, has openly clashed with his own faith’s leaders.
Earlier this year, Homan reacted to Pope Francis’s appeals for compassion toward migrants by declaring, “I’ve got harsh words for the Pope. The pope ought to fix the Catholic Church… and leave border enforcement to us,” adding that as a “lifelong Catholic,” he felt the pope should stay out of it.
Top Trump Official Escalates Attacks on the Pope and Bishops
After attacking the pope, Tom Homan has now accused Bishop Rojas of dishonesty. MAGA’s Catholic problem just got worse.
Homan’s words stunned many Catholics — it’s not every day a public official tells the pope to mind his own business.
Meanwhile, Homan has been embroiled in a scandal himself: in a recent FBI sting, he was caught accepting a $50,000 cash bribe in a bag from the Cava restaurant chain, allegedly in exchange for promises of a future government contract.
Trump’s Border Czar, Who Defied the Pope, Snared in FBI Bribery Sting
Tom Homan — longtime critic of Pope Francis and Catholic bishops — was allegedly caught on tape taking $50,000 in cash.
Despite this, Homan continues to oversee what he boasts is the “biggest deportation” program America has ever seen — a drive now reaching into church parking lots and parish pews.
Standing Up for Faith over Fear
As a Catholic and as the publisher of Letters from Leo, I find this targeting of worshippers profoundly alarming.
It’s horrifying that in 2025, American Catholics are effectively being forced to worship in fear or even underground— looking over their shoulders for ICE agents as they exit Sunday Mass.
NEW: Trump Forces Catholics to Worship Underground
For the first time ever, American Catholics are worshiping in fear — just like in Stalin’s USSR and Mao’s China.
This MAGA-driven campaign against immigrant families in our pews isn’t just a political issue; it’s a direct assault on religious liberty and human decency.
But we are not helpless.
Church communities in Chicago and across the country are rallying to protect one another, from neighbors escorting parishioners to bishops offering dispensation from Mass to keep people safe.
At Letters from Leo, we are part of this effort too — committed to shining a light on these injustices and standing up for Catholics against the MAGA agenda that seeks to intimidate our faith communities.
In the face of fear, we draw strength from our faith’s core teachings of justice, love, and solidarity.
We will not be silenced or cowed at the church door.
Our message to those in power is simple: Our faith is not a crime, and we will continue to worship and welcome the stranger without apology.
Letters from Leo is open to anyone who wants to be informed and inspired by our pope — and to turn that inspiration into action that leaves America and the world more just, less cold, and more alive with hope.
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To me this anti religion. Look at the millions of illegal immigrants Biden and Obama expelled. They didn’t do it this way. They expelled the bad guys.
Our Spanish mass is at noon. I have wondered if ICE will show up at some time. Tom Homan may claim to be Catholic but Satan has gotten to him. He will have to answer to God for his behaviors.