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Trump border czar dismisses Pope’s attack on immigration policy

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From LifeSiteNews

By Michael Haynes, Snr. Vatican Correspondent

Despite Pope Francis’ critique of Trump’s plans to secure the U.S. border, the Vatican City State recently enacted stringent border laws of its own… the new laws state that those who break into the Vatican City State territory unlawfully shall be handed a jail term of between one and five years, and a fine of €10,000 to €25,000.

President Donald Trump’s border czar Tom Homan robustly rejected Pope Francis’ criticism of the administration’s border policies, saying the Pope “ought to fix the Catholic Church and concentrate on his work and leave border enforcement to us.”

Speaking to reporters outside the White House last night, Homan issued succinct comments on Pope Francis’ surprise letter sent yesterday to the U.S. bishops.

“I’ve got harsh words for the Pope. The Pope ought to fix the Catholic Church,” began Homan.

“I’m saying this as a lifelong Catholic: I was baptized Catholic, [had] my first Communion as a Catholic, confirmation as a Catholic. He ought to fix the Catholic Church and concentrate on his work and leave border enforcement to us,” added Homan.

Continuing, the border czar implied the Pope was hypocritical in his denunciation of the U.S. policy, saying “he wants to attack us securing our border? He has got a wall around the Vatican, does he not? So he has a wall to protect his people and himself, but we can’t have a wall around the United States.”

“I wish he’d stick to the Catholic Church and fix that and leave border enforcement to us,” Homan closed.

Homan’s comments came hours after the Vatican published an open letter from Pope Francis to the U.S. Catholic bishops.

Francis referred to the “major crisis” of the Trump administration’s policies regarding illegal immigrants, and rejected the notion that breaking U.S. border laws makes people criminals.

“The rightly formed conscience cannot fail to make a critical judgment and express its disagreement with any measure that tacitly or explicitly identifies the illegal status of some migrants with criminality,” wrote Francis. “At the same time, one must recognize the right of a nation to defend itself and keep communities safe from those who have committed violent or serious crimes while in the country or prior to arrival.”

Francis added that deporting individuals “damages the dignity of many men and women” if they left their native country for “reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment.”

He also rejected comments made by Vice President JD Vance about the “ordo amoris,” saying instead that an “infinite dignity” of man should motivate border policies to be more permissive, and formed on love that “builds a fraternity open to all, without exception.”

Following Trump’s inauguration, the new administration announced steps to tackle the “border crisis” as numbers of illegal immigrants have swelled in the nation.

Since then much of the mainstream narrative has presented Trump as enacting mass deportations and an ethnic cleansing of the U.S. in terms of his plans to remove illegal immigrants.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security stated February 3 that only 5,693 immigrants had been removed from the country since January 20. Reuters reports that since January 20, Mexico has received some 11,000 migrants back to the country and onwards to Honduras, as of February 7.

By contrast, Homeland Security data show that 4.7 million illegal immigrants were repatriated under the Biden administration’s years of 2021 through 2024. Conflicting data reports cloud the matter, with the Migration Policy Institute suggesting a lower figure, and that Biden matched Trump’s first term and deported around 1.5 million illegal migrants.

Homan’s office of U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s own 2024 report shows that enforcement and removal operations saw over 270,000 people repatriated in 2024, as ICE “removed more people without legal basis to remain in the United States than it did in any other fiscal year since 2015.”

While month-by-month data is unavailable before October 2013, total figures document that Obama saw 5.2 million deportations in his two terms, which was around half that of President George W. Bush and less than half of President Bill Clinton.

In contrast, monthly deportations under Biden far exceeded those made by Obama during his second term, suggesting that the invective directed against Trump’s deportation plans is not taking into account the historical record of his predecessors in the White House on the issue.

Somewhat little reported is that, despite Pope Francis’ critique of Trump’s plans to secure the U.S. border, the Vatican City State recently enacted stringent border laws of its own. Issued quietly late December 2024, the new laws state that those who break into the Vatican City State territory unlawfully shall be handed a jail term of between one and five years, and a fine of €10,000 to €25,000 ($10,300 to $25,800).

But if extenuating circumstances are involved and the perpetrator uses guns, vehicles, disguises, or is in a group, then the penalties are increased.

The Vatican City State is largely surrounded by the border wall, with the notable exception being, of course, St. Peter’s Basilica; however, even though the Basilica is readily accessible to tourists, entry is subject to security checks akin to those found at airports. Anyone attempting to bypass security at the border is swiftly ejected or taken into custody.

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illegal immigration

Court attempts to halt Trump deportations, El Salvador president says ‘too late’

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From The Center Square

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A class action lawsuit was filed on Saturday against the Trump administration after President Donald Trump signed an executive order invoking the Enemy Aliens Act to target, arrest and remove violent Venezuelan prison gang members, Tren de Aragua (TdA), from the U.S.

The lawsuit was filed by the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation on behalf of five Venezuelans illegally in the country who were detained in Texas and New York. The lawsuit was filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.

On Saturday, nearly 300 violent illegal foreign nationals were removed from the U.S. and arrived in El Salvador with the cooperation of El Salvadoran president Nayib Bukele after reaching an agreement with Secretary of State Marco Rubio.

“The first 238 members of the Venezuelan criminal organization, Tren de Aragua, arrived in our country,” Bukele said in a post on X. “They were immediately transferred to CECOT, the Terrorism Confinement Center, for a period of one year (renewable).”

El Salvador also received 23 MS-13 gang members from the U.S. who were wanted by Salvadoran authorities, Bukele said. They include two ringleaders, one of whom “is a member of the criminal organization’s highest structure.” Those sent to El Salvador by the U.S. will help Bukele’s government “finalize intelligence gathering and go after the last remnants of MS-13, including its former and new members, money, weapons, drugs, hideouts, collaborators and sponsors.

“As always, we continue advancing in the fight against organized crime. But this time, we are also helping our allies, making our prison system self-sustainable, and obtaining vital intelligence to make our country an even safer place. All in a single action. May God bless El Salvador, and may God bless the United States,” he said.

The U.S. government is paying a small fee to detain them, Bukele said, and the prison is also making money because it requires inmates to work. These additional inmates, “combined with the production already being generated by more than 40,000 inmates engaged in various workshops and labor under the Zero Idleness program, will help make our prison system self-sustainable,” he said, noting that it costs $200 million a year to maintain.

In response, Rubio thanked Bukele saying, “El Salvador has agreed to hold the violent criminals “in their very good jails at a fair price that will also save our taxpayer dollars. President Nayib Bukele is not only the strongest security leader in our region, he’s also a great friend of the U.S.”

In an emergency hearing held on Saturday, a federal judge ruled that deportations of violent Venezuelans be temporarily halted and those who were illegally in the country and already removed be returned. The ACLU said the order blocked the administration “from deporting anyone under the Alien Enemies Act while the case proceeds. Flights carrying Venezuelan immigrants the DHS attempted to deport have been ordered to turn around and return to the U.S.”

A U.S. federal judge has no jurisdiction over foreign governments.

In response, Bukele posted on X, “Oopsie … Too late,” with a laughing emoji.

Bukele also posted videos and pictures of them arriving in El Salvador in handcuffs. The video shows them being met by El Salvadoran military wearing riot gear and transported in armored vehicles to CECOT. The videos depict El Salvadoran officials lifting up their shirts to show tattoos of gang member affiliation, officials shaving the heads of kneeling inmates and their admittance as CECOT inmates.

Cooperation between the U.S. and El Salvador expanded under Trump and Rubio, representing a reversal of Biden administration policy that used taxpayer money and planes to transport illegal foreign nationals into the U.S.

Trump has been aggressively targeting of TdA after a record more than 1 million Venezuelans illegally entered the U.S. under the Biden administration, including TdA members expanding operations in at least 22 states, The Center Square first reported.

Under the Trump administration, Venezuelan repatriation flights also began, paid for by the Venezuelan government, negotiated by the Trump administration, The Center Square reported.

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“The Invasion of our Country is OVER”: Trump reports lowest illegal crossings in history

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Quick Hit:

President Donald Trump announced on Saturday that illegal immigrant apprehensions at the southern border plummeted to just 8,326 in February—marking a historic low. In a Truth Social post, Trump declared, “The Invasion of our Country is OVER,” crediting his administration’s tough enforcement measures for the drastic reduction.

Key Details:

  • The figure represents a staggering 96% drop from December 2023, when illegal crossings under Joe Biden’s administration peaked at 301,981.

  • Trump emphasized that those caught illegally entering the U.S. were “quickly ejected from our Nation or, when necessary, prosecuted for crimes against the United States of America.”

  • Trump credited executive action, including an emergency border declaration, military deployments, the end of birthright citizenship, and a crackdown on sanctuary cities, for the sharp decline in illegal entries.

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Diving Deeper:

President Trump’s first full month back in office saw a seismic shift in border security policy, leading to what he called “the lowest number of illegal border crossings in decades.” In a Truth Social post on Saturday, Trump highlighted the stark contrast between his administration and Biden’s, stating:

“This means that very few people came – The Invasion of our Country is OVER. In comparison, under Joe Biden, there were 300,000 Illegals crossing in one month, and virtually ALL of them were released into our Country. Thanks to the Trump Administration Policies, the Border is CLOSED to all Illegal Immigrants.”

Upon taking office, Trump signed multiple executive orders that significantly curtailed illegal immigration. These include reinstating policies that allow expedited removals, deploying U.S. troops to the southern border, resuming construction of the border wall, and ending Biden-era programs that facilitated migrant entry through humanitarian parole. Additionally, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) reversed previous Biden restrictions on Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), leading to a sharp uptick in interior enforcement.

According to DHS data obtained by Fox News Digital, ICE interior arrests skyrocketed by 137% in just three weeks, with 11,791 arrests recorded from Jan. 20th to Feb. 8th—compared to 4,969 during the same period in 2024. High-profile raids in sanctuary cities have also yielded thousands of arrests, including gang members and violent offenders.

The economic impact of Trump’s border policies is already being felt. Federal funds that had been allocated to house illegal immigrants in hotels, particularly in cities like New York, are being clawed back. A recent executive order directed all federal agencies to identify and cut off taxpayer-funded programs that benefit illegal immigrants.

Despite congressional gridlock preventing any new border legislation, Trump’s administration has relied solely on executive authority to crack down on illegal immigration. His message to potential border crossers remains clear: “Anyone who tries to illegally enter the U.S.A. will face significant criminal penalties and immediate deportation.”

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