Pope Francis Calls Trump’s Mass Deportation Plans for Immigrants ‘A Disgrace’

Pope Francis, leader of the Roman Catholic Church, described Donald Trump’s plans for mass deportations of immigrants as a “disgrace.”

His remarks come almost ten years after he famously called the then-presidential candidate “not Christian” for advocating for the construction of a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border.

The pope’s comments regarding the Trump administration’s deportation pledges were made during an appearance on the popular Italian talk show Che Tempo Che Fa on Sunday night.

“If true, this will be a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the bill” for the problem, Francis said. “This won’t do! This is not the way to solve things. That’s not how things are resolved.”

Trump, set to be sworn in on Monday, January 20, made mass deportations a central focus of his campaign and has pledged to issue several executive orders on his first day to overhaul immigration policy.

Back during his 2016 presidential campaign, Pope Francis was asked about Trump’s plan to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. After celebrating Mass at the border, the pope famously declared that anyone who builds a wall to keep out migrants is “not Christian.”

Many U.S. bishops have strongly opposed Trump’s deportation plan, with Cardinal Robert McElroy, the incoming archbishop of Washington D.C., stating that such policies are “incompatible with Catholic doctrine.” This statement references the Biblical command to “welcome the stranger.”

Another cardinal close to Francis, Chicago Cardinal Blasé Cupich, said the reports of mass deportations targeting the Chicago area “are not only profoundly disturbing but also wound us deeply.”

In a statement from the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City on Sunday, Cupich affirmed that governments have the duty to protect both borders and communities.

“But we also are committed to defending the rights of all people and protecting their human dignity,” according to the text of his statement.