ISTANBUL

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops issued a rare “special message” Wednesday urging compassion toward immigrants and criticizing what they described as a growing “climate of fear” fueled by the Trump administration’s aggressive immigration policies.

Meeting in Baltimore, the bishops said they were “saddened by the vilification of immigrants” and “troubled by threats against the sanctity of houses of worship and the special nature of hospitals and schools,” as enforcement agents increasingly target immigrants in areas long thought of as “safe zones.”

“As pastors, we are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement,” the bishops wrote in the special message, the first to be issued in 12 years. “We feel compelled now in this environment to raise our voices in defense of God-given human dignity.”

The statement called for meaningful reform of US immigration laws and rejected “indiscriminate mass deportations,” likely referring to President Donald Trump’s shift from pledging to target “the worst of the worst” to deporting gardeners, health care workers, and longtime US residents with no criminal records.

The bishops urged an end to “dehumanizing rhetoric and violence,” while recognizing that nations have the right to regulate their borders and ensure security.

“We love our country and pray for its peace and prosperity,” they said. “Human dignity and national security are not in conflict. Both are possible if people of good will work together.”

The bishops also expressed solidarity with immigrant families affected and even torn apart by deportations and detentions, saying: “You are not alone.”