Pope Francis has described Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations of immigrants as a “disgrace,” following his criticism nearly a decade ago of Trump’s proposal to build a wall along the US-Mexican border.
Speaking during a popular Italian talk show, Che Tempo Che Fa, Pope Francis addressed the incoming US president’s immigration pledges.
He stated, “If true, this will be a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the bill. This won't do! This is not the way to solve things. That's not how things are resolved.”
Trump, who is scheduled to take the oath of office on Monday, made mass deportations a key campaign issue and has promised a series of first-day orders to overhaul immigration policies.
In 2016, during his first campaign, Francis was asked about Trump’s plans to construct a wall along the US-Mexico border.
Following a Mass celebrated along the border, he famously declared, “Anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants is not Christian.”
US bishops have consistently opposed Trump’s deportation policies.
Cardinal Robert McElroy, the incoming archbishop of Washington DC, described such policies as “incompatible with Catholic doctrine,” referencing the Biblical call to “welcome the stranger.”
Chicago Cardinal Blase Cupich echoed similar sentiments, expressing deep concern over reports of mass deportations targeting the Chicago area.
In a statement delivered from the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, Cupich stated, “Governments have the responsibility to protect borders and communities. But we also are committed to defending the rights of all people, and protecting their human dignity.”
Pope Francis, who grew up in Argentina in a family of Italian immigrants, has long been an advocate for the plight of migrants, urging governments to welcome, protect, and integrate them within their means.
He has consistently emphasised that the dignity and rights of migrants outweigh any national security concerns.
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