Letter from Bishop Seitz

An Open Letter to the Borderlands Community in El Paso Most Rev. Mark J. Seitz, Bishop of El Paso March 10th, 2025

Una carta abierta a la comunidad fronteriza en El Paso Mons. Mark J. Seitz, Obispo de El Paso 9 de marzo del 2025

Dear Community,
​
As a pastor in the borderlands, I am sensitive to the palpable anxiety which has taken hold of
so many of our residents in recent months, both immigrant and non-immigrant alike.
Over just the past several weeks, we have seen the closure of the border to the vulnerable,
immigration enforcement actions against our neighbors and the denial of reasonable
protections for our schools, hospitals and places of worship. In recent days, I myself have lost
friends who have chosen to self-deport back to immensely challenging conditions in their
home country.

The heartwrenching pain coursing through our community is real. Indiscriminate immigration
enforcement, the denial of due process and the pulling apart of families strike at our
community and are grave attacks on human dignity. The threat of mass deportations is
untenable and immoral and demands a credible response.

Therefore, I invite all of our El Paso residents – all people of faith and everyone committed
to the common good – to come to San Jacinto Plaza at 6pm on Monday, March 24, 2025,
on the Memorial of Archbishop Oscar Romero, for a March & Vigil organized in
collaboration with the Hope Border Institute.

There, we will be joined by an international delegation of bishops as well as many of our
community leaders. Together, we will march in solidarity with all our neighbors gripped by fear
at this moment.

Let us walk together, confident that God is present in our desires for a more just world and in
our actions to make them a reality.