ROME (AP) — On Tuesday, the Pope issued a strong rebuke to the government of U.S. President Donald Trump for its program of mass deportation of migrants, warning that the initiative to expel people solely based on their status deprives them of their inherent dignity and “will end badly.”
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Francisco took the extraordinary step of addressing the US immigration crackdown in a letter to the country's bishops, who have criticized the deportations arguing that they harm the most vulnerable.
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The Argentine, who is the first Latin American pontiff in history, has made attention to migrants a priority of his papacy, demanding that countries welcome, protect, promote, and integrate those fleeing conflicts, poverty, and climate disasters. Francis also pointed out that he hopes governments do everything possible within the limits of their capacities.
In the letter, Francisco states that countries have the right to defend themselves and to keep their communities safe from criminals.
"Having said that, the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land due to extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution, or severe environmental degradation, damages the dignity of many men and women, and entire families, and places them in a state of special vulnerability and helplessness," he wrote.
Citing biblical stories of migration, the people of Israel, the Book of Exodus, and the own experience of Jesus Christ, Francis reaffirmed the right of individuals to seek refuge and safety in other places and expressed concern about what is happening in the United States.
"I have closely followed the major crisis taking place in the United States with the start of a program of mass deportations," the pontiff stated. "A well-formed conscience cannot help but issue a critical judgment and express disagreement with any measure that, implicitly or explicitly, identifies the irregular situation of some migrants with criminality."
One thing is to develop a policy to regulate migration legally, but expelling people solely based on their status is another, he wrote.
"What is built on the basis of strength, and not on the truth that dignity is equal for all human beings, starts off wrong and will end badly," he pointed out.
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that over 8,000 people had been arrested in immigration enforcement actions since Trump took office on January 20. Some have been deported, others are detained in federal prisons, and others are being held at the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba.