Pope Leo calls out ‘extremely disrespectful’ treatment of migrants in the U.S. : NPR

Pope Leo XIV said he was concerned about the cruel and sometimes “extremely disrespectful” treatment of migrants in the United States.

The pope made his remarks while answering questions from reporters at Castel Gandolfo, the papal country residence near Rome.

“We have to look for ways to treat people humanely, treat people with the dignity that they have. If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat this. There are courts. There is a justice system,” the Pope said.

“Nobody said the United States should have open borders,” the Pope continued. “I think every country has the right to determine who enters, how and when.”

However, he added, “when people have lived good lives – many of them for 10, 15, 20 years – their treatment is extremely disrespectful, to say the least, with alarming incidents of violence.”

United States Conference of Catholic Bishops last week published a “special message” in which he expressed regret Trump administration immigration policies. Pope Leo, who was born in Chicago and spent 20 years as a missionary and bishop in Peru, called on bishops to make a strong and clear statement.

“We oppose the indiscriminate mass deportation of people,” the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops said. “We pray for an end to the inhumane rhetoric and violence directed at both immigrants and law enforcement.”

Asked about the bishops' comments, Tom Homan, Trump's “border czar,” said that “a secure border saves lives. We're going to enforce the law, and by doing so, we're going to save a lot of lives.”

On October 27, the Trump administration announced that it had deported more than 527,000 migrants since taking office in January.

Daniel Burke contributed to this story.