What is happening today to immigrant families in the United States, especially to children, is an attack on the basic values that people of all faiths share. Children are being taken away from their parents, little ones crying in fear, and families being separated again and again. We are left with the same truth—there has to be a better way,” said Father Gary Graf, who started his journey in Dolton, Illinois, the town where Pope Leo XIV grew up.
Graf said, “To tear apart families is to hurt the very heart of God,” and criticized these policies as “immoral and un-American.”
He refuses to use the harsh and dehumanizing term “illegal immigrant.”
Before leaving, Graf received blessings from excited supporters outside of Leo’s childhood home.
His destination is New York Harbor, specifically Ellis Island and the Statue of Liberty, which are more than 800 miles away. He aims to finish his journey in 50 days.
The 67-year-old priest hopes to “get Americans from every state to call for compassion, humanity, and support in the immigration process.”
His journey comes as Pope Leo is making more urgent calls for Americans to show kindness to migrants during the harsh ICE actions.
“This country, from Pope Leo’s childhood home here to Ellis Island in New York, reminds us that immigrants and their families helped build our nation.
They deserve not bullets, batons, and tear gas, but compassion, dignity, and respect,” said Graf. “We are saying the truth because it’s not being heard.”
“Twelve years ago, I had the chance to cross from Nogales, Arizona, into the United States without permission,” said Graf.
“I climbed the fence and turned myself in to the sheriff in Nogales, Arizona. I told the sheriff, I did this to show that an illegal act doesn’t make someone illegal. If that were true, how many of us who have ever broken the law in this country would be sent away?”
“This is the message we bring to Lady Liberty: the truth that all immigrants are not strangers, but rather our brothers, sisters, sons, and daughters.
America must welcome people who have good intentions and give them a path forward,” Graf added.
Chicago has become a key place where Trump’s harsh policies are being tested as he plans to use the National Guard to intimidate the city, and his fascist ICE officers are breaking the rights of American citizens and undocumented people alike.
Father Graf is a member of the group Priests for Justice for Immigrants and the head pastor of Our Lady of the Heights in Chicago Heights.
This is what real Christianity looks like.
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