Pope Francis sharply rebuked President Donald Trump’s harsh immigration policies and mass deportation plan in an open letter, warning that the policies “will end badly.”
In a remarkable move, the head of the Catholic Church published a letter to bishops of the United States urging them to remain welcoming and nonjudgemental toward migrants despite the president and his allies issuing statements that claim many are criminals and dangerous.
“What is built on the basis of force, and not on the truth about the equal dignity of every human being, begins badly and will end badly,” Pope Francis wrote.
Pope Francis raised major concerns with Donald Trump’s immigration policy and mass deportations (REUTERS)
Trump and his allies have begun implementing an aggressive deportation plan, directing immigration agents into cities to conduct raids, sending migrants to Guantanamo Bay, shutting down asylum policies and increasing military presence at the U.S. – Mexico border.
The pope said that deporting people who, in many cases, have left their homes due to poverty, economic insecurity, exploitation, persecution and dangerous environments among other reasons ultimately damages their dignity and leaves people vulnerable.
In response, border czar Tom Homan, told the pope, to “concentrate” on the Catholic Church and its own problems.
“You’ve got a lot of problems right there in the Catholic Church, you’ve got enough to do. You’ve got enough to fix in your own home, leave the border stuff to us,” Homan said on Newsmax on Tuesday morning.
Homan also insinuated it was hypocritical of the pope to issue such statement because “he’s got a bullet wall around the Vatican. That’s ok? But we can’t have a wall around the United States?”
Trump and his allies have spent more than a year dehumanizing many migrants, calling them dangerous “criminals” who are “invading” the U.S. and need to be removed.
Pope Francis wrote that those who are “of good will” or faithful to the Catholic Church should not give in to narratives that discriminate against migrants – seemingly, a passive way of asking Catholic leaders in the U.S. to push back against Trump’s policies.
Although the president has said he is a nondenominational Christian, Trump has also called himself a “longtime supporter” of the Catholic Church and won over the Catholic vote in the 2024 presidential election by a 20-point margin.
Yet his recent executive orders and policies appear unaligned with Catholic priorities.
The Trump administration’s recent attempt to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development has hurt the Catholic Relief Services – the single-largest recipient of funds from the humanitarian aid agency.
A sign on the door of St. Paul and St. Andrews United Methodist Church in New York City reads that Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Homeland Security cannot enter without a warrant signed by a judge (EPA)
Though Trump has long-touted anti-immigration policies, his recent rhetoric and mass deportation plan have raised alarm bells for advocates, state attorney generals and lawyers.
Religious leaders have implored Trump to adopt a more empathetic perspective of immigrants – something the president has not taken kindly to.
Episcopal Bishop Mariann Budde confronted Trump during a church service shortly after Inauguration Day, pleading with him to “have mercy” on migrants and LGBT+ youth during his second term.
Like Pope Francis, Budde told Trump that migrants may not have proper documentation but “a vast majority of immigrants are not criminals.”
But Trump brushed off her plea, claiming Budde is a “radical left hard-line Trump hater,” and demanded an apology.
Less than a day after Pope Francis issued his open letter, a group of 27 organizations representing millions of Jewish and Christian Americans filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration challenging its order to allow immigration raids in “sensitive” places such as places of worship.
It follows a similar lawsuit by Quaker congregations and joined by a Sikh temple and Cooperative Baptist Fellowship echoing similar arguments.
