Distorting St. Augustine to Justify State Absolutism in Immigration Policy
The Catholic News Agency portal (November 19, 2025) reports on U.S. Department of Homeland Security official Nate Madden invoking St. Augustine’s City of God to justify immigration enforcement policies condemned by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. The bishops’ Nov. 12 statement opposes “indiscriminate mass deportation” by citing Matthew 25, while Madden counters that “illegal immigration is itself illegal” and distinguishes between “blameless poor” and “lawbreakers.” The report notes antipope Leo XIV’s November 18 call for “humane treatment” of immigrants and reference to his modernist exhortation Dilexi Te. This represents a complete inversion of Catholic social doctrine under the guise of theological discourse.









