Priest Twists Gospels to Critique Travel Ban and Immigration Policy

As Twitchy reported on Tuesday night, Minneapolis Police Chief Brian O'Hara took to the pulpit and reflected on his Catholic faith at Christmastime, and how it reminded him that Mary and Joseph themselves were outsiders, just like all of the illegal aliens living in his city and committing $1 billion in welfare fraud.

We've been doing a lot of posts about churches getting creative with their Nativity scenes. Cory Booker found one that he said sent "a powerful message" by excluding the Christ child and erecting an "ICE WAS HERE" sign. Other displays have added ICE agents to the Christ child's visitors, while another put baby Jesus in zip-ties ("because that actually happened here in this city"). Another removed the entire Holy Family and erected a sign saying they were in hiding from ICE.

We've covered Jesuit Priest Father James Martin quite a few times for his hot takes. He referenced papal writings to agree that the Holy Family is "the archetype of every refugee family."

The Holy Family is the “archetype of every refugee family."

Since this has been in the news, here are some papal writings on Jesus, Mary and Joseph as migrants and refugees:

“The émigré Holy Family of Nazareth, fleeing into Egypt, is the archetype of every refugee family.… pic.twitter.com/iD3g9swikJ
— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) December 17, 2025

Martin, though, also weighed in on President Donald Trump's Tuesday proclamation of new travel restrictions. As we reported, Trump increased the number of affected countries from 19 to 39, saying, "Many of the restricted countries suffer from widespread corruption, fraudulent or unreliable civil documents and criminal records, and nonexistent birth-registration systems—systemically preventing accurate vetting." Sen. Ed Markey called it racist and xenophobic, as did Rep. Ilhan Omar.

This administration is slamming the door shut on the foreign invaders who have undermined our national security.

DHS, under the leadership of @POTUS Trump and @Sec_Noem, will relentlessly enforce our nation’s immigration laws. https://t.co/AQ3OnwYWCG
— Homeland Security (@DHSgov) December 16, 2025

"I was a stranger and you did not welcome me" (Mt 25). https://t.co/gxMtuPt5Fo
— James Martin, SJ (@JamesMartinSJ) December 17, 2025

Hey @grok, how many refugees are currently living in Vatican City?
— Bad Hombre (@Badhombre) December 17, 2025

As of December 2025, Vatican City hosts a small number of refugees, with historical figures around 20 from Syria since 2016. However, recent sources suggest the current number may be zero due to strict residency rules. Exact data isn't publicly detailed.
— Grok (@grok) December 17, 2025

The Vatican is huge and could handle 3000 tents
— Kurt M (@kurtismarsh) December 17, 2025

God didn't tell us to destroy ourselves to reward criminals, trespassers and welfare frauds. If you interpret it that way, no one should trust your interpretations of anything else related to Christianity.
— John Hawkins (@johnhawkinsrwn) December 17, 2025

“I was a cringe poster on X, and I purposely took Jesus’ words out of context.”
— Skeletor 🧼🧽🫧 (@TheMuppetPastor) December 17, 2025

Well, I guess because of a Bible verse, western nations can’t have border laws.
— Michael Sebastian (@HonorAndDaring) December 17, 2025

You know people can still come here right
— BKactual (@BravoKiloActual) December 17, 2025

Well hello there Pharisee.
— Cynical Publius (@CynicalPublius) December 17, 2025

If you came here illegally, no, we didn't welcome you — you broke in. Well, the Biden administration did, but that's over.

Cool, now say that to the people who had their children killed and raped by illegals coming here without any checks on their backgrounds
— Josh Barnett-AZ (@BarnettforAZ) December 17, 2025

Note: The wording does not say, "I was an invading force to destroy you, and you did not welcome me."
— Clay on X (@cdr16web) December 18, 2025

Yeah, a stranger not being an invader. Jesus doesn't say "For I broke in to your house, and you let me stay".
— Christian Combatives 🦬 (@RevIsaacWirtz) December 17, 2025

In Latin, this is called a non sequitur.
— Red-Dot-Chuck (@chuckjenks) December 17, 2025

This is a fun game -
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs in by another way, that man is a thief and a robber."
— TC2 (@TerryCarlsonII) December 17, 2025

But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. - Matthew 24:43
— Big Jarhead (@big_jarhead) December 17, 2025

“I was intentionally ignorant of the Bible’s warning on non-assimilating foreigners setting up permanent shop within a sovereign nation, and you didn’t call me out on it, so I’m going to keep using it to push a political agenda the Bible endorses exactly nowhere.”
— Sowellstradamus (@sowellstradamus) December 17, 2025