Community prays for justice, peace, reconciliation as TPS ends

September 8, 2026

On Wednesday, Sept. 9, those from El Salvador who are in the United States legally under Temporary Protection Status, or TPS, will lose that authority to be in the country.

Fearing what will happen to them, a crowd gathered in prayer Sunday, Sept. 6. They prayed for justice, peace, and reconciliation as hundreds of thousands of migrants from multiple countries in the United States TPS lose that protection.

The U.S. bishops opposed ending TPS status for migrants who fled violence in their homelands on the grounds that it goes against the Catholic Social Teaching of protecting life and dignity of every person. In June, the U.S. Supreme Court allowed the U.S. government to end TPS.

For Catholics, this is a moral crisis, said Bishop Brendan Cahill, chairman of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration last June.

He explained why the Catholic Church is advocating for migrants. “If we are truly to affirm the God-given dignity of every human person, we as a nation cannot turn a blind eye to such an injustice and the impossible choices it will create for families and communities,” he said.

“Forcibly sending families to dire conditions is a legacy all leaders should seek to avoid,” he added.

Last Sunday, Bishop William Joensen joined those gathered at St. Anthony Parish’s grotto in Des Moines and prayed with the community.

“This country, which can serve as a refuge and a beacon of hope for so many, sadly can also be a place that poses its own hardships. We are challenged by temptations to fear, to mistrust, to feel isolated and separated from the things that give us life,” he said.

He expanded on the temptation to fear.

“We cannot see or predict what lies ahead, whether immigration and administration officials will relent and have a change of heart so that we can continue to be neighbors to one another,” he said.

Tearfully, Karen Sedeno, of Our Lady of the Americas Parish in Des Moines, compared the consequences to uprooting many tall, strong, mature trees. Losing legal protection could uproot families, she said.

“They do not know where their tree of life will land,” she said. “We need to come together and pray for our brothers and sisters.”

St. Paul speaks of strong forces that help us when things weigh us down, said Bishop Joensen.

“We have received the same Spirit that unites the Father and the Son in an unbreakable bond of love and life. We may not carry identification papers with us everywhere, but we bear the identity of adopted children of God, with the right to be heard by God as we seek his mercy on us and on the whole world. We have been set free from despair and fortified in the hope that the Spirit of God is still laboring on our behalf, leading us beyond the present circumstances in our communities and countries,” said Bishop Joensen.

“The Holy Spirit bears witness with us and for us when we feel our weakness acutely, when the future appears cloudy and confusing. And by our presence and prayer, we give witness to the deeper truth that we are never alone. We are never abandoned.”

Together, the crowd prayed the Divine Mercy chaplet, Psalm 118, Song of joy for salvation, heard Romans 8:14-27, the Our Father, and sung “Be Not Afraid.”

“O God in whom we hope, search our hearts,” prayed Bishop Joensen. “We depend on you; we trust in your Son, Jesus. May your mercy for each of us be the same mercy you bestowed on your entire Church, your people. Shed your grace on this country’s leaders who make decisions that impact lives so that they will act in accord with your will. Then our groaning will be changed to rejoicing as we praise your goodness, your glory, with all God’s holy ones.”