‘Major crisis’: Again, Pope Francis condemns Trump’s deportation policy

Pope Francis criticised US President Donald Trump’s deportation of undocumented immigrants In a letter to US bishops, he urged Catholics and others “not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters.”

The 88-year-old Argentine has consistently defended the rights of migrants during his leadership, encouraging world leaders to show more compassion toward those fleeing poverty or violence.

“I have followed closely the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations,” the letter read.

Furthermore, Pope said, “the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival.”

But he stated that “the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution, or serious deterioration of the environment damages the dignity of many men and women and of entire families.”

Deportation “places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness,” he wrote.

Francis had warned when Trump returned to the White House last month that his pledge to carry out the largest deportation campaign in US history, expelling millions of undocumented immigrants, would be a “calamity.”

“This is not a minor issue—an authentic rule of law is verified precisely in the dignified treatment that all people deserve, especially the poorest and most marginalized,” he further wrote in the letter.

He also added, “This does not impede the development of a policy that regulates orderly and legal migration. However, this development cannot come about through the privilege of some and the sacrifice of others.”

He finally appreciated the work done by Catholic clergy with refugees and migrants. “I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church and all men and women of goodwill, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters,” he wrote.

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