Pope Francis broke his silence as US President-elect Donald Trump has decided to go ahead with his bold yet controversial decision of mass deportations in the United States.
Appearing for an interview with the Italian chat show Che Tempo Che Fa Sunday, Pope referred to Trump’s proposals as a “disgrace.”
“If it is true, it will be a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the unpaid bill,” he said. “It won’t do. This is not the way to solve things,” stated the leader of the Catholic Church.
The statement from Francis came after he appointed Cardinal Robert McElroy as the future Archbishop of Washington, D.C. McElroy, who is an outspoken critic of mass deportations, reported CNN.
Francis’ remarks coincide with Trump’s anticipated actions during his first day in office, which include eliminating legitimate immigration routes and executing mass deportations.
Meanwhile, several key media organizations like Fox News and ABC News have reported that Trump is set to sign over 200 executive orders on the first day in office following his inauguration ceremony.
In an interview with the Washington Post on Saturday, Tom Homan, the “border czar” for Trump, stated that he is hesitant to implement a leaked plan to deploy a large number of immigration officers to Chicago within the first week of the president-elect’s administration.
Homan further clarified the WaPO that he hasn’t “hasn’t made a decision yet” on a strategy to deploy 150–200 ICE officers to the city as early as Tuesday.
“We’re looking at this leak and will make a decision based on this leak,” Homan said. Calling it “unfortunate”, Trump border czar stressed that anyone leaking information about law enforcement operations “puts officers at greater risk.”
He went on to say that he was uncertain about “why Chicago was mentioned specifically” and clarified that the new administration’s goals were far more expansive than Chicago.
Know about Trump’s Operation Safeguard
Speaking to NY Times, two unidentified federal agents and a former official informed that the “Operation Safeguard” plan was scheduled to begin the day after Trump’s inauguration and continue until Monday of the following week.
Homan declared that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) will begin apprehending national security and public safety threats on day one. “We’ll be arresting people across the country, uninhibited by prior administration’s guidelines. … We’re not sweeping neighborhoods. We have a targeted enforcement plan.”
The incoming Trump administration is getting ready for what it claims would be the biggest mass deportation operation in American history. Politico predicts that Trump on his first day in office will sign an executive order establishing a state of emergency along the southern border on Monday.
