The march will take place on the feast of St. Óscar Romero, the martyred archbishop of San Salvador known for his fierce defense of human rights and the marginalized.

From OSV News: 

Bishop Mark J. Seitz of El Paso, Texas, is spearheading a march and vigil to protest the Trump administration’s plans for the mass deportation of immigrants who lack legal authorization to live and work in the U.S. as part of its immigration enforcement strategy.

In a March 10 open letter to El Paso’s borderlands community, Bishop Seitz invited area residents, “all people of faith and everyone committed to the common good” to gather March 24 at 6 p.m. at San Jacinto Plaza, located in El Paso’s downtown, with participants marching to Sacred Heart Church. The El Paso church operated a shelter for migrants that served some 30,000 from 2022-2024.

The march and vigil, organized in partnership with Hope Border Institute — an El Paso-based immigrant advocacy nonprofit — will take place, as Bishop Seitz noted, on the feast of St. Óscar Romero, the martyred archbishop of San Salvador known for his fierce defense of human rights and the marginalized.

“The threat of mass deportations is untenable and immoral and demands a credible response,” Bishop Seitz said in his open letter.

He added, “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.”

Bishop Seitz said he has sensed the “palpable anxiety” which has gripped both immigrant and non-immigrant area residents in the face of the administration’s policies.

The bishop pointed to the recent “closure of the border to the vulnerable,” along with “immigration enforcement actions against our neighbors and the denial of reasonable protections for our schools, hospitals and places of worship…”

… Many unauthorized immigrants remain fearful of arrest and deportation, leading some to withdraw from attending religious services, classes and medical appointments.

“The heartwrenching pain coursing through our community is real,” wrote Bishop Seitz. “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.”

Read it all. 

The full text of Bishop Seitz’s letter:

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.