Pope: "Trump's Mass Deportation of Illegal Immigrants Would Be a Disaster"

Pope: "Deporting Illegal Immigrants Will Not Be Effective"
"We Should Not Solve Problems This Way"
Pope Previously Criticized Trump's Anti-Immigration Policies

Donald Trump, the President-elect of the United States, is expected to issue an executive order as his first action to implement a 'mass deportation of illegal immigrants,' prompting Pope Francis to warn that it would be a "disaster."

Last September, Pope Francis, who visited Singapore, is giving a speech at the National University of Singapore Theatre. Photo by Yonhap News

According to AFP and other foreign media on the 19th (local time), Pope Francis expressed concern in an interview with the Italian broadcaster Nove, stating, "It will be a disaster because the poor and destitute who have nothing will bear the cost." He further said that if President-elect Trump proceeds with the plan to deport illegal immigrants, it would be a 'shame,' adding, "It will not be effective. Problems cannot be solved this way."

Trump has repeatedly pledged during his campaign that he would carry out "the largest deportation operation in American history," vowing to deport 11 million illegal immigrants. Accordingly, it is expected that from his first day in office, he will drastically change immigration policy through executive orders or declare a national emergency to utilize Department of Defense resources necessary for deportations. In particular, as the 'first executive order' is likely to be related to the issue of illegal immigrants, the Pope appears to have issued an unusually strong criticism. He is usually cautious about commenting on the political situations of other countries.

Pope Francis has previously criticized Trump’s immigration policies. In 2016, while returning from a visit to Mexico, the Pope commented on then-Republican presidential candidate Trump’s pledge to build a wall on the Mexico border, saying, "Anyone who tries to build walls instead of bridges, no matter where they are, is not a Christian." In 2017, the Vatican expressed concern over then-President Trump’s anti-immigration executive order, stating, "We must build bridges between different cultures, not walls."

Meanwhile, local media have analyzed that the Trump administration’s deportation of illegal immigrants will be piloted in Chicago, a stronghold of the American progressive camp, on the day after the inauguration, January 21. It is reported that a broad crackdown will target not only immigrants with criminal records but all undocumented immigrants. There are also concerns that Trump’s plan could lead to conflicts with countries unwilling to accept deported illegal immigrants from the United States.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.