A PLEA for the new United States administration to be merciful to undocumented immigrants and LGBTQ people has been rejected by President Trump as “nasty in tone” and from a “Radical Left hard line Trump hater”.
It was made by the Bishop of Washington, the Rt Revd Mariann Edgar Budde, when she preached before President Trump, his family, and Vice-President J. D. Vance at the traditional post-Inauguration service of prayer for the nation, in Washington National Cathedral, on Tuesday, the President’s first full day in office.
During the sermon, the Bishop addressed President Trump, in the front row, directly, and asked him to “have mercy” on LGBTQ people and undocumented migrants.
Noting that he spoken the previous day of being “saved by God to make America great again”, she said: “In the name of God, I ask you to have mercy on the people in our country who are scared now. There are gay, lesbian, and transgender children in Democratic and Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives.”
Of undocumented migrants and their families, the Bishop said, “they may not be citizens or have the proper documentation, but the vast majority of immigrants are not criminals. I ask you to have mercy, Mr President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here.”
Her sermon also called for unity: “We have gathered this morning to pray for unity as a people and a nation, not for agreement, political or otherwise, but for the kind of unity that fosters community across diversity and division, a unity that serves the common good. . . It is not conformity. It is not victory. It is not polite weariness or passivity born of exhaustion. Unity is not partisan,” she said.
On his return to the White House, President Trump dismissed the service: “I didn’t think it was a good service. . . They could do much better.”
AlamyThe Bishop of Washington, the Rt Revd Mariann Edgar Budde, at the traditional post-Inauguration service of prayer for the nation, in Washington National Cathedral, on Tuesday
On his Truth social platform on Wednesday morning, he wrote: “The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart. . . She and her church owe the public an apology!”
Within hours of in his inauguration as the 47th President, a slew of executive orders had been signed undoing much of President Biden’s legacy, including taking the first steps towards President Trump’s promised “mass deportation” of illegal migrants; the rolling back of the US climate commitments; and another executive order declaring that the administration would recognise only two sexes: male and female.
The President also rescinded a ban on immigration raids in schools, churches, hospitals, relief centres, and “places where children gather”. Instead, the administration said in a memo to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers that they should use a “healthy dose of common sense” in choosing locations to look for undocumented migrants.
Pope Francis has criticised the plans for deportations, describing them as a “disgrace” a day before the inauguration, although he sent his traditional Inauguration Day congratulatory message. He would pray for “wisdom, strength, and protection” for the President as he took office again. “It is my hope that under your leadership the American people will prosper and always strive to build a more just society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination, or exclusion.”
The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, Dr Sean Rowe, and the President of its House of Deputies, Julia Ayala Harris, in an open letter, expressed concern about the new immigration policies, emphasising “Christ’s call to welcome the stranger”.
They wrote: “We . . . urge our new president and congressional leaders to exercise mercy and compassion, especially toward law-abiding, long-term members of our congregations and communities; parents and children who are under threat of separation in the name of immigration enforcement; and women and children who are vulnerable to abuse in detention and who fear reporting abuse to law enforcement.”
The Roman Catholic Archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich, said that reports of plans for mass deportations targeting the Chicago area would “wound us deeply”.
“The Catholic community stands with the people of Chicago in speaking out in defence of the rights of immigrants and asylum-seekers. Similarly, if the reports are true, it should be known that we would oppose any plan that includes a mass deportation of US citizens born of undocumented parents,” he said.
Another executive order suspends the US Refugee Admissions programme, which supports the resettlement of refugees. The Episcopal Church supports the programme actively: it has helped with the resettlement of 100,000 people in the past 44 years.
Another order signed on Inauguration Day seeks to ensure that children born in the US without at least one parent who is a lawful permanent resident or US citizen are no longer automatically extended US citizenship. But, by Tuesday evening, it was already subject to a legal challenge by 18 states and two cities, which described it as “unconstitutional and un-American”.
Among the whirlwind of executive orders is one beginning the year-long process to remove the US for a second time from the Paris Climate Agreement; another to start drilling for oil in the Arctic and offshore; and another scrapping electric-car targets. Another also began for a second time the process of withdrawing the US from the World Health Organization.
Christian Aid criticised the reversal of climate policies. A spokesman said: “The climate crisis is the world’s biggest geopolitical threat, already destroying lives and livelihoods around the globe. Trump withdrawing the US from the Paris Agreement shows a unique level of ignorance and indifference to the plight of some of the world’s most vulnerable people. The question now is how the rest of the international community responds.”
The President also signed pardons for 1500 of his supporters who stormed the US Capitol four years ago (News, 8 January 2021), among them some serving sentences as long as 18 years for violence and assault.
During his swearing-in on Monday, President Trump did not follow the custom of placing a hand on the Bible. His wife, Melania, held two Bibles for him, and he held his left hand by his side as he repeated the vow: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will faithfully execute the Office of President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States.”
At one point on Monday, searches asking about the validity of the swearing in because of the absence of his left hand on the Bible were trending on Google. The Constitution says, however, that “no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States.”
Although there was early outcry over the raft of executive orders from some, a study by the Pew Center shows that his voters back his plans to toughen laws on immigration, which, together with the economy, were the top issues for Trump supporters in last November’s election (News, 8 November 2024).
Eighty-two per cent said that it was very important to their vote, compared with just 11 per cent who rated climate change as very important; 18 per cent who listed racial and ethnic inequality as important; and 35 per cent who said that abortion was an important issue for them.
Read more on this story in Analysis here