Oct. 8 (UPI) — Pope Leo XIV reportedly opposed U.S. mass deportation efforts after meeting with El Paso, Texas, Bishop Mark Seitz and members of the Hope Border Institute on Wednesday.
The pope hosted Seitz, institute members and others in Vatican City to discuss the Trump administration’s efforts to deport potentially millions of “migrants” who no longer have legal standing to remain in the United States, according to the Holy See Press Office.
Seitz said the meeting was to enable Pope Leo to see and hear the “stories and fears of our immigrant sisters and brothers from across our country,” USA Today reported.
The meeting included showing a four-minute video of migrants recounting their experiences amid the Trump administration’s efforts to deport those without legal standing to remain in the United States.
“He watched the whole thing, and his eyes at the end were filled with tears,” Dylan Corbett, executive director of the Hope Border Institute, told Politico.
“As the meeting came to an end, he said, ‘You stand with me, and I stand with you, and the church will continue to accompany and stand with migrants.'” Corbett said.
The Vatican has not confirmed that Pope Leo made those comments, but many U.S. Catholic leaders have denounced the Trump administration’s deportation of an estimated 2 million “migrants.”
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Oct. 1 rejected claims that those being deported are subject to “inhumane treatment” and said the Trump administration is enforcing the nation’s immigration laws.
The Hope Border Institute is an El Paso-based non-profit that says its mission is “pursuing justice at the U.S.-Mexico border.”
While the pope reportedly stands with Seitz and the Hope Border Institute, Vatican City enforces its borders and punishes illegal crossings by fining and imprisoning offenders for between one and four years, according to the Catholic News Agency.