Pope Calls Potential U.S. Deportation Plans ‘a disgrace’

Pope Francis criticized potential plans for mass deportations in the United States under President-elect Donald Trump during a wide-ranging Italian television interview on Sunday.

“If this is true it is a disgrace because it makes the poor unfortunate who have nothing pay the price of imbalance. This is not how things are solved,” the pope said on Italian broadcaster Nove’s “Che tempo che fa” program on Jan. 19, speaking about plans to deport immigrants who are in the U.S. illegally.

The U.S. bishops said in November they would speak out forcefully if President Trump does advance the proposal in a way that undermines human dignity.

There are an estimated 11.7 million undocumented immigrants in the U.S., according to July 2023 statistics from the Center for Migration Studies.