Pope slams Trump's deportation plans, calling them a "disgrace"
Pope Francis has condemned US President-elect Donald Trump's immigration policies, calling his plans to deport illegal immigrants "a disgrace," CNN reports.
During an interview on Italian television, the Pope addressed Trump's planned immigration orders, which will take effect after his inauguration. Francis said: "If that is true, it would be a disgrace. It is not the right path."
For Francis, protecting immigrants has been a key part of his mission. The issue is also personal to him. In his autobiography, he recounts the story of his grandparents and father, who in 1927 intended to emigrate from Italy to Argentina and miraculously escaped the sinking of the ship Principessa Mafalda, and did so later.
Chicago Cardinal Blaise Cupich also criticized the plan for mass deportations, echoing Francis' views. Even earlier, Francis called Trump's views on immigration "unchristian."
US President-elect Donald Trump has stressed that his administration will begin to address the problem of illegal immigration without delay. He announced that on his inauguration day, January 20, the "border invasion" will be stopped, RIA Novosti reports.
"We must put our country on the right track. By sundown Monday night, the invasion across our borders will stop," Trump declared, speaking to his supporters in Washington on the eve of his inauguration.
US President-elect Donald Trump has announced that he is planning to release declassified materials related to the assassinations of the 35th US President John F. Kennedy and Nobel Peace Prize laureate Martin Luther King.
The White House Press Secretary has revealed that, in the first week of Donald Trump's presidency, 538 illegal immigrants have been arrested and detained, while hundreds of others have been deported.
Karoline Leavitt, the White House Press Secretary, said the deportations were part of "the largest deportation operation in history."
He claimed that the people arrested included members of armed gangs. One of Donald Trump's main campaign promises during the 2024 presidential election was to prevent illegal immigrants from entering the United States.
According to a White House report, during the four years of Biden's administration, more than 8 million illegal immigrants have entered the United States, with 6.7 million entering through the southern border.
Although Trump's anti-immigration rhetoric has focused primarily on illegal immigrants, on the second day of his administration, he signed an executive order to expel legal immigrant students who are alleged to be 'sympathetic' to enemies of Israel.
Further reports say that refugee flights scheduled to arrive in the United States soon have been canceled, with troops being deployed to the southern border, and authorities being authorized to arrest migrants in or near schools and churches.
