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Border czar Tom Homan slammed the Catholic Church on Friday, saying its opposition to mass deportations undermines U.S. law enforcement and costs lives.
"The Catholic Church is wrong," Homan said. "I'm sorry. I'm a lifelong Catholic. I'm saying it not only as a border czar - I'll say it as a Catholic. They need to spend time fixing the Catholic Church, in my opinion."
Homan made the remarks at the White House when asked about the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which this week condemned President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown and warned of "a climate of fear and anxiety" around immigration enforcement, according to Reuters.
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The bishops' statement followed recent comments from Pope Leo, who called for "deep reflection" on how migrants are being treated under Trump, whose administration has aggressively carried out mass deportations, according to Reuters.
Homan urged the Church to "fix itself" before criticizing U.S. immigration policy and accused faith leaders of hypocrisy, noting that the Vatican imposes harsh penalties for trespassing on its grounds.
"So, according to them, the message we should send to the whole world is that if you cross the border illegally, which is a crime, don't worry about it," Homan said.
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"If you get ordered removed by a federal judge after due process, don't worry about us, because there should not be mass deportations. Is that the message you send to the whole world?"
Homan said the Trump administration's immigration policy "saves lives" and is more humane than the Biden administration's approach.
He argued that desperate migrants often rely on violent cartels to smuggle them across the border in hazardous conditions, claiming that more than 4,000 migrants died during those journeys, while thousands of Americans died from fentanyl smuggled across the border.
"Secure border saves lives. I wish the Catholic Church would understand that," Homan said.
"We have a right to secure our borders, just like they have a right to secure their facility. You can't enter their facility without getting arrested. The penalties for entering their facility are much worse than ours."
Homan added that the U.S. has "the most secure border in the history of this nation" because of strict enforcement under ICE.
