Pope Francis criticized Trump's immigration policy

Pope Francis on Tuesday, February 11, sharply criticized US President Donald Trump's migration policies in an open letter sent to America's Catholic bishops.

"I call on all members of the Catholic Church not to succumb to narratives that discriminate against and cause unnecessary suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters," Reuters quoted the pontiff's letter as saying.

He said he believes it is wrong to equate all illegal immigrants with criminals. The Pope said that Trump's plans for mass deportation of migrants are a "disgrace".

Migration exodus: U.S. policy threatens relations with Latin America

Mass deportations of illegal aliens and threats of sanctions could disrupt the sustainability of economic ties in the region

Earlier, on February 8, demonstrators opposed to Trump's immigration policy held a picket outside the Trump International Golf Club, where the president was vacationing. The protesters had flags of Mexico, the United States and Guatemala and chanted the slogan "Immigrants make America great."

The first US plane with illegal migrants landed at Guantanamo Bay on February 4. It was specified that the illegal aliens would not be housed with the prisoners in the high-security prison of the same name.

The New York Post reported on January 28 about the beginning of the first large-scale raids against migrants in New York. Those foreigners who are under suspicion of committing serious crimes were arrested. Then it was reported that the U.S. immigration service made about 1.2 thousand arrests in one day, and almost half of the detainees have no criminal record.

Before that, on October 5, 2024, Trump called the US an occupied country because of the large number of migrants. He called the mass entries of foreigners "military invasions without uniforms".