US bishops warn Donald Trump against mass deportation

US Catholic bishops have said they will “raise our voices loudly” if newly-elected President Donald Trump’s mass deportation efforts undermine human dignity and fundamental rights.

During the fall meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) on Tuesday they acknowledged their concerns about Trump’s proposal, known as “Operation Aurora,” that could attempt to do just that deport between 11 and 14 million undocumented immigrants.

USCCB President Archbishop Timothy Broglio emphasized that while the bishops will not tolerate illegal immigration, they insist on a humane approach, adding that those crossing the border “represent the face of Christ.”

“I think as we move forward, we hope that there will be a serious effort to restore immigration law and that there will also be a renewed respect for the dignity of the human person,” Broglio said.

Bishop Mark Seitz of the El Paso-based USCCB Migration Commission said the bishops would speak out if the proposed deportations would endanger human rights or jeopardize the Church’s mission to help marginalized communities.

“The manner in which a deportation program is carried out will be a test for our nation,” Seitz said. “We know that the reality is often different from the rhetoric. We will watch and respond as necessary.”

Seitz said the USCCB recognizes that some immigrants did not enter the country legally, but emphasized that the U.S. government must distinguish between those who have committed further crimes and those who, “for the sake of our country, should be allowed to stay.” “

Newsweek has contacted Trump’s office for comment via email.

What is Trump’s mass deportation plan?

Trump made a crackdown on illegal immigration one of the central policies of his successful presidential campaign, repeatedly promising to initiate the “largest deportation in the history of our country.”

He made similar promises when he ran for president in 2016, but deportations never exceeded 350,000 during his first administration. For comparison: the then president Barak Obama carried out 432,000 deportations in 2013, the highest annual total since records began.

Trump has also said he will use the National Guard to round up migrants and invoke the Alien Enemies Act, a 1798 law that allows the president to deport any non-citizen from a country with which the US is at war .

Earlier this week, Trump announced that Tom Homan, his former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, will “border czarresponsible for the mass deportations.

In an interview on Fox NewS’ Futures on Sunday morningHoman defended Trump’s plan for mass deportations and said that ICE would take steps to implement them in a ‘humane manner’.

“It will be a targeted, planned operation, carried out by the men of ICE. The men and women of ICE do this every day. They are good at it,” he told the host. Maria Bartiromo.

In one CBS During an interview last month, he said family separations could be avoided because “families could be deported together.”