More than two dozen Christian and Jewish groups filed a federal lawsuit to block a Trump policy allowing ICE agents to make arrests in places of worship.

The letter also stated that Francis disagrees with identifying the illegal status of migrants with criminality, and called on the bishops “to walk together” and defend the human dignity of the migrants in their country.

In the face of dangerous nativism and the possibility of state violence through deportation, the church will be challenged to offer a compelling and credible response.

In order for the United States to remain “a government of laws, not of men,” the editors write, all officials entrusted with elected authority must recognize the constraints on their own power.

“The church is not against deportations per se, but there are several conditions that need to be in place.”

Clergy and religious continue to speak out against the Trump administration's sweeping changes to immigration policy as large-scale deportation operations ramp up.