Pope Francis: Trump’s Illegal Immigrant Deportation Plan Is a ‘Disgrace’

ROME — Pope Francis has trolled President-elect Donald Trump on the eve of his inauguration, insisting his plan to deport illegal immigrants from the United States is a “disgrace.”

Appearing on Italian national television Sunday night, the pontiff was asked about Mr. Trump’s deportation plan and answered that “this is not the way to solve things.”

During a 49-minute interview, Fabio Fazio, the host of Che Tempo Che Fa (“What Weather We’re Having”), recalled that Monday would be the inauguration of Mr. Trump, who has made it known that “within two days he will begin his program of expulsion of irregular immigrants from the United States.”

Asked whether he had spoken to Trump about this, the pope made known that he hasn’t spoken with the president-elect since he came to the Vatican in May 2017, suggesting that he had not congratulated him on his election.

“But if it’s true, this will be a disgrace, because it makes these poor wretches, who have nothing, pay the price for the imbalance,” Francis said of the deportation plan. “This isn’t right. This is not the way to solve things.”

On January 9, Pope Francis declared that migrants should not be treated as a “problem to me managed” but should be “welcomed” for their skills and aspirations.

“I find it greatly disheartening to see that migration is still shrouded in a dark cloud of mistrust, rather than being seen as a source of empowerment,” the pontiff said in his yearly address to members of the diplomatic corps.

“People on the move are seen simply as a problem to be managed,” he lamented, insisting that they should not be “treated like objects to be moved about.”

Migrants “have dignity and resources that they can offer to others; they have their own experiences, needs, fears, aspirations, dreams, skills and talents,” he said.

What is needed is an international effort to confront the phenomenon of migration by creating “safe regular pathways,” the pope urged.

At the same time, the Vatican recently announced the tightening of its own border controls, threatening stiff penalties for anyone entering its territory or violating its airspace without permission.

In a recent decree, the Vatican said that violators of its borders will face monetary fines ranging from 10,000 to 25,000 euros and prison sentences from one to four years.

Anyone who “enters the territory of Vatican City State with violence, threat, or deception will be punished with imprisonment from one year to four years and a fine from €10,000.00 to €25,000.00,” the Italian-language text reads.

The document goes on to clarify its understanding of “deception,” noting that it includes sneaking into Vatican territory without permission.

“Entry by fraudulent circumvention of the State’s security and protection systems or by evading border controls shall be deemed to have occurred ‘by deception,’” the decree elucidates.

The Vatican City State is the world’s only completely walled-in sovereign territory, whose entry points are manned by members of the Swiss Guard, backed up by armed gendarmes not far away. All but one of the entry points are locked tight from dusk until dawn.

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