Camilla Jessen
Church leader and Pope Leo ally calls out “mass, indiscriminate deportations”.
One of the Catholic Church’s most senior American figures has condemned President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown, warning that the U.S. is descending into an era of fear and division.
Speaking to CNN in Rome, Archbishop Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C.—a key ally of Pope Leo XIV—called the administration’s tactics “inhumane and morally repugnant.”
He accused Trump officials of deliberately tearing families apart to send a message.
A Voice Against Fear-Based Policies
McElroy, appointed by Pope Francis and later elevated under Pope Leo, was among the cardinals who elected the first American pope last year.
His comments came the same day Trump visited a Florida migrant detention facility, controversially nicknamed “Alligator Alcatraz.”
“What is happening now is something far beyond border control,” McElroy said. “It is a mass, indiscriminate deportation… that literally tears families apart and is intended to do so.”
He warned that U.S. immigration agents have been targeting ordinary people in public places like car washes and parking lots.
“This isn’t about criminals,” he said. “It’s about creating fear.”
McElroy said many immigrants are now afraid to leave their homes.
“People are scared to even go to church,” he said, pointing to changes that now allow immigration agents to arrest people in places that used to be considered safe.
He believes the policy is being used to scare people. “This is about fear,” he said. “Most undocumented immigrants work hard and contribute to society. Treating them like criminals is not right.”
“It’s Happened Before”
McElroy warned that the current situation reminds him of past waves of immigration when new groups—like the Irish, Italians, or Poles—were also treated badly.
“People said they were inferior too,” he said. “And that’s what we’re hearing again today.”
Vice President J.D. Vance, who is also Catholic, said earlier this year that the Church only criticizes Trump’s policies because it receives money from the government to help immigrants.
McElroy pushed back, saying the Church covers much of the cost of those programs itself.
“The government doesn’t pay for everything,” he said. “We’re doing this because it’s the right thing to do.”
A Pope Who Stands With Immigrants
Pope Leo has spoken many times about treating immigrants with dignity. McElroy said the Pope’s words apply clearly to what’s happening in the U.S.
The archbishop added that the real issue isn’t crime or security.
“What’s really behind this?” he asked. “I think some people just don’t like the kind of people who are coming now.”
