From PBS NewsHour.

Cardinal Joseph Tobin, one of the country’s highest-ranking Catholic leaders, called for the defunding of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement due to "concern for the common good."

"It’s not simply the vindication of competing rights, but it’s rather the preservation of the common good — so, to look at how the actions in Minneapolis or anywhere else affect the common good," he said.

Tobin, the head of the Archdiocese of Newark, called ICE a "lawless organization" and urged people to pressure lawmakers to block funding for the agency during an interfaith service this week.

PBS News Hour’s Geoff Bennett spoke to Tobin on Wednesday about his concerns and his decision to speak out.

"I think what I was calling for, and I still call for and will call for, is the recognition of the dignity of human beings, no matter what their legal status may be," he said.

His comments come after the second fatal shooting of a U.S. citizen by federal agents in Minnesota this month and the detention of a 5-year-old boy.

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