POPE Leo has urged United States bishops to take a strong stand against the treatment of immigrants under President Donald Trump’s strict policies.
The bishops who visited the Vatican on Wednesday revealed this to Reuters, stating that the Pope is “very personally concerned about these matters.”
According to the report, Leo, being the first US pope, received dozens of letters from immigrants expressing their fears of deportation under the Trump administration’s policies during a meeting with bishops and social workers from the US-Mexico border.
One of the letters presented to the pope on Wednesday revealed the story of a family with two members lacking legal status in the US, who were too afraid to leave their home for fear of deportation.
The writer of the letter, written in Spanish, urged the Pope to speak out openly against the raids and the unfair treatment the community is experiencing.
El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, who took part in the meeting, said that the Pope expressed his “desire that the US Bishops’ Conference would speak strongly on this issue.”
The ICIR reported in January that the Trump administration started a visa policy and illegal immigrants in the US.
Since he took power on January 20, Trump has made good his vow to carry out mass deportations of immigrants, among other sweeping reforms by his government.
On January 28, the Enforcement and Removal Operations division of the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement reported that about 3,690 Nigerians in the US could be deported.
Elected in May to succeed the late Pope Francis, Leo has adopted a more reserved approach than his predecessor, who was known for his outspoken criticism of the Trump administration and his often spontaneous remarks, but Leo has increased his criticism in recent weeks.
On September 30, the pope questioned whether the Trump administration’s anti-immigration policies aligned with the Catholic Church’s pro-life teachings, remarks that sparked strong backlash from several prominent conservative Catholics.
The ICIR reported the United States Department of Homeland Security (USDHS) is set to launch a new programme offering unaccompanied migrant teenagers a one-time payment of $2,500 each if they agree to return to their home country voluntarily.
The USDHS said that the pilot initiative will initially focus on 17-year-old migrants and will require authorisation from an immigration judge before any departure takes place.
The payment, intended to support the minors’ reintegration, would be issued only after they return to their home countries, the memo disclosed.
Nanji is an investigative journalist with the ICIR. She has years of experience in reporting and broadcasting human angle stories, gender inequalities, minority stories, and human rights issues. She has documented sexual war crimes in armed conflict, sex for grades in Nigerian Universities, harmful traditional practices and human trafficking.