Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez called for “restraint and calm” following immigration sweeps in downtown LA on June 6 that resulted in at least 44 arrests.
Reports showed that federal immigration authorities and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents conducted operations in multiple locations, including at multiple Home Depot locations and the downtown LA fashion district.
“I am troubled by today’s immigration enforcement raids in Los Angeles, and I am praying for our community,” Archbishop Gomez said in a statement. “I pray tonight that everyone involved will exercise restraint and calm.
“We all agree that we don’t want undocumented immigrants who are known terrorists or violent criminals in our communities. But there is no need for the government to carry out enforcement actions in a way that provokes fear and anxiety among ordinary, hard-working immigrants and their families.”
Archbishop Gomez, who prayed for compassion on immigration in the days following President Donald Trump’s inauguration in January, urged federal lawmakers — as he did in a February 2025 column — to enact immigration reform.
“I urge Congress to get serious about fixing our broken immigration system that leads so many to seek to cross our borders illegally,” Archbishop Gomez said. “Other nations have a coherent immigration policy that respects the natural rights of people to emigrate in search of a better life and also ensures control of their borders. America should too. It’s been almost 40 years since the last reform of our immigration laws. That’s too long and it’s time to do something about that.
“May Our Lady of Guadalupe continue to watch over her children and pray for America.”
