At Pope’s funeral, Trump should be reminded of Francis’ migrant advocacy

Andres Oppenheimer

Pope Francis’ final speech denouncing the demonization of immigrants should be broadcast on loudspeakers to President Trump during his scheduled attendance at the pontiff’s funeral Saturday at the Vatican. It was mainly directed at him, and he shouldn’t be allowed to ignore it.

Throughout his papacy, Francis was a relentless critic of Trump’s false suggestions that most immigrants are criminals, and of the U.S. president’s characterization of them as “animals,” or dangerous people who are allegedly “poisoning the blood of our country.”

In his speech to a crowd of tens of thousands at St. Peter’s Square on Easter Sunday, read by an aide on the day before his death, the Pope decried “how much contempt” is stirred up “towards the vulnerable, the marginalized, and migrants.” He called for solidarity with those “who come from distant lands, bringing unfamiliar customs, ways of life and ideas. For all of us are children of God.”

In previous sermons, writings and interviews, Francis had directly referred to Trump’s anti-immigrant policies.

On Feb. 10, shortly after Trump’s second-term inauguration and his vow to start mass deportations, the Pope sent a letter to U.S. bishops urging them to counter the White House’s false suggestions that most immigrants are criminals.

“I have closely followed the major crisis that is taking place in the United States with the initiation of a program of mass deportations,” Francis wrote in that letter. He added that right-minded people should oppose “any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality.”

The Pope added, “I exhort all the faithful of the Catholic Church, and all men and women of good will, not to give in to narratives that discriminate against and cause needless suffering to our migrant and refugee brothers and sisters.”

Already in 2016, Francis had lashed out against then-presidential candidate Trump’s vow to build a wall on the border with Mexico. “A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Francis said.

The Pope’s defense of immigrants also extended to European countries and politicians who exploited anti-immigrant sentiment for political gain.

His first trip as pope, in 2013, was to the Italian island of Lampedusa to celebrate mass in remembrance of many Africans who had died at sea while trying to reach European soil.

But no head of state in the world has drawn so much attention for his anti-immigrant campaign as Trump, and few have challenged the rule of law in their own country to deport migrants as the U.S. president. The Trump administration is currently being challenged in the courts for deporting immigrants such as Kilmar Abrego García without due process to mega-prisons in El Salvador, and for arresting U.S. citizens on suspicions that they may be undocumented immigrants.

Just as important as beaming the late pope’s message to Trump, it would be imperative for U.S. Catholic priests to relay Francis’ defense of immigrants during their masses this week. That’s because, despite the fact that Trump’s claims about immigrants are mostly half-truths or blatant lies, a sizable portion of Americans have come to believe them.

Contrary to Trump’s frequent depictions of undocumented immigrants as criminals, a Stanford University study and several other surveys have shown that immigrants commit up to 60% fewer violent crimes than U.S.-born Americans.

And the fact is that the United States badly needs more immigrants — not fewer — to perform many jobs that Americans won’t do. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce estimates that the United States faces a significant labor shortage, with many more open jobs than available workers.

And yet, Trump’s anti-immigrant campaign has convinced a majority of Americans that the estimated 11 million undocumented immigrants should be deported. According to the latest CNN poll, 56% of Americans support Trump’s mass deportations.

The Pope tried, and largely failed, to sway Trump and most Americans to see immigrants as people fleeing hardship and, in the vast majority of cases, contributing a lot to their adoptive countries. Now, as the world honors Francis, his core message of solidarity with migrants must take center stage at his funeral and beyond.