Trump-Vance’s ICE Blocks Catholic Bishop From Delivering Eucharist at Detention Center

Responding to Pope Leo's call, it was their second attempt in three weeks to minister to detained migrants, and once again the answer from the Trump Administration was simply “no.”

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On Nov. 1, Chicago Auxiliary Bishop José García-Maldonado and a delegation of priests, nuns, and lay Catholics walked in solemn procession toward the Broadview Immigration Processing Center in suburban Chicago after an outdoor Mass.

They carried sacred vessels of the Eucharist — which Catholics revere as the body of Christ — hoping to share it with the faithful locked inside.

But as the small group reached the facility’s gates, an Illinois state trooper relayed their request to ICE officials by phone.

Moments later the officer emerged and “the answer was no,” Sister JoAnn Persch, RSM, announced to the crowd.

No reason was given this time, despite organizers following all protocol after a prior denial.

Last month, a similar Communion visit was refused, with Homeland Security initially claiming lack of advance notice — a requirement the organizers met this round, to no avail.