Pope Francis slams Donald Trump’s migrant deportations: ‘Will end badly’

The Catholic head priest addressed the recent crackdown on illegal immigrants in the US in a letter to American bishops, who had criticised the deportations for harming the most vulnerable sections of society.

“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 rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality,” Francis wrote.

The Pope has been a constant advocate of migrant rights, demanding countries to protect people fleeing conflicts, poverty and climate disasters and integrate them into their societies. He has also urged governments to take measures that are in consonant with their capacities.

While noting that countries have the right to defend themselves and keep their communities safe from criminals, Francis also criticised the recent migrant crackdown by the Trump administration.

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

The Pope sought to differentiate between policy to regulate legal migration and deliberate expulsion of people purely based on their illegal status.

“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,” he said.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said last week that more than 8,000 people had been arrested in immigration enforcement actions since Donald Trump assumed presidency on January 20.

(With AP inputs)