James Anthony Tamayo
| James Anthony Tamayo | |
|---|---|
| Bishop of Laredo | |
 | |
| Church | Roman Catholic |
| See | Laredo |
| In office | 2000— |
| Predecessor | (none) |
| Successor | (incumbent) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | July 11, 1976 |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
October 23, 1949 Brownsville, Cameron County, Texas, USA |
| Previous post |
Bishop of Galveston-Houston (auxiliary), Bishop of Ita (titular) |
James Anthony Tamayo (born October 23, 1949) is the current bishop of Laredo, Texas. He was ordained a priest on July 11, 1976 and consecrated bishop on March 10, 1993. He became auxiliary bishop of Galveston-Houston and titular bishop of Ita. On August 9, 2000, he was installed as the bishop of the newly-founded Diocese of Laredo in Webb County in South Texas.
Tamayo holds a Master in Arts in Theology from the University of St. Thomas and attended St. Mary's Seminary in Houston.
Tamayo is a member of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. On September 10, 2008, Tamayo called upon the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush to halt work-place raids in search of illegal immigrants. "We have respect for our enforcement personnel, but these worksite raids are only pitting human beings against each other. We must abandon the raids."[1]
In March 2015, Tamayo was among eighty religious figures who signed a letter to President Barack H. Obama asking that the government halt the practice of detaining families who have come into the United States illegally. He visited a detention center in Dilley between San Antonio and Laredo and expressed concern for the women being held there, some for a considerable period of time.[2]
References
- ↑ Hernan Rozemberg of the San Antonio Express-News, "End raids, bishops plea", Laredo Morning Times, September 11, 2008, pp. 1, 9A
- ↑ "Faith leaders support immigrants", Laredo Morning Times, March 28, 2015, pp. 1, 13A