Texas Nuns and Priests Confront Trump’s ICE Raids, Standing Between Agents and Migrants
Inspired by the work of Pope Leo's first U.S. appointment, San Diego Bishop Michael Pham, Texas clergy are stepping into courthouses to shield migrants from sudden deportation.
In a deeply reported piece for The Barbed Wire, journalist Cat Cardenas recounts what happened one sweltering July morning in Harlingen, Texas, when an asylum seeker named Carlos walked into a nondescript, tan brick immigration court for what was supposed to be a routine hearing.
For five years, the Nicaraguan had complied with every requirement — attending every court date, every ICE check-in, every legal obligation. The judge reviewed his case and outlined what he’d need to prepare for his next hearing in August 2026.
Then, in a moment, it all collapsed. The case was abruptly dismissed. As Carlos stepped outside, two masked ICE agents grabbed him, cuffed him, and pushed him into an unmarked vehicle.
“Just like that, everything we feared came true,” said Father Brian Strassburger, SJ, who directs Del Camino Jesuit Border Ministries in Brownsville.
He and two other religious volunteers had accompanied Carlos to court that day after hearing reports of similar courthouse arrests nationwide. “They put him in handcuffs, put him in an unmarked vehicle, and took him away.”
It’s part of a deliberate Trump administration strategy: Department of Homeland Security lawyers move to dismiss cases in court, stripping migrants of their legal protections, and ICE agents outside swoop in for expedited removal. The tactic has spread from California to Maryland, creating a climate of panic.
In South Texas, Catholic priests and nuns now rotate into immigration courtrooms — not to argue cases, but to stand beside the accused, pray with them, and make sure no one faces this ordeal alone.
“Even though we can’t do anything for them legally, we can be there to support them,” Sister Rose Patrice Kuhn told The Barbed Wire.
The movement is growing.
In San Diego, Bishop Michael Pham — Pope Leo’s first U.S. bishop appointment — led clergy to a courthouse on World Refugee Day and watched ICE agents scatter.
That encounter inspired a new diocesan ministry to train volunteers to accompany migrants to court.
Pope Leo has made immigrant dignity a hallmark of his young papacy.
He’s praised migrants as “missionaries of hope” and, just weeks ago, met with California bishops to show solidarity in their efforts to stop the deportation raids.
What’s happening in Texas is the gospel in action — nuns and priests standing between the wolves and their flock, undeterred by Trump’s ICE force, embodying the Church Pope Leo envisions: one that stands with the vulnerable and against the tide of fear.
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You remind me that there are wonderful people in the world.
I am so proud and honored , by the fact, Catholic Church is standing up to people who are gerrymandering their congressional districts and helping the migrants, who truly deserve help in this country. Reinforces, my faith and belief we are all, God’s and Christ children. Blessings and prayers to them and you , Chris.