The Archbishop of Córdoba (Argentina), Cardinal Ángel Sixto Rossi, regretted the announcements linked to the immigration policy made by the president of the United States, Donald Trump, upon taking office, and considered that the president “read the opposite” of what he Pope Francis asked him: that the United States be “a land of opportunity and welcome.”
In statements to Radio Mitrethe cardinal recalled that “In the letter that Pope Francis writes to Trump, he tells him that he hopes that the United States will be a land of opportunity and welcome, and invites him to build a more just society, which is not a place for hate, discrimination, for exclusion.”
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However, “it seems that he read the opposite,” he lamented, after his inauguration speechPresident Trump will announce tougher immigration policies, a stop to all irregular entry into the country, and the deportation of “millions and millions” of irregular immigrants.
“I say this in my reflection: sometimes, it is said that ‘opulence brings oblivion’. The majority of Americans – as we are too – are children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren of undocumented immigrants who arrived hungry. Therefore, We are children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren of what some of them consider ‘criminal migrants’. Opulence brings oblivion,” he insisted.
“It is not a problem of nationalities, because there are many businessmen and rich men of the same nationality who are not expelled nor are doors closed to them,” he warned.
His criticism also extended to those migrants who live legally in the United States and support Trump’s policies. “It is a selfish reaction, to take care of one’s own little quintita, we would say, and it shows an ugly streak in our heart: we forget where we come from,” he considered.
“How many and how many of those who will cease to be citizens, how many of those who are going to become ‘criminal migrants’ are those who do their domestic service, harvest their crops, clean their buildings, wash the dishes in their restaurants, cover the night shifts in their hospitals,” said the cardinal.
“These may be undocumented, but they are not criminals, they pay taxes, they are good neighbors, they are good followers of churches, mosques, and synagogues. Without wanting to be simplistic, it is sad that we are headed that way (moving in that direction),” he warned.
Juliet Villar
I am a journalist, with a degree in communication from the National University of La Matanza in Argentina. I have work experience in non-governmental organizations. Since 2016 I have been dedicated to Catholic journalism, first at the Argentine Catholic Information Agency (AICA) and, since 2022, as ACI Prensa correspondent for Argentina, Chile, Uruguay and Bolivia.