--- title: Pope Francis Criticizes Trump's Immigration Policy Over Migrant Separations description: Pope Francis spoke out against President Donald Trump's zero-tolerance immigration policy, saying populism is not the solution. canonical: https://time.com/5316987/pope-francis-trump-immigration-policy/ author: Jamie Ducharme article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2018-06-20T12:22:34.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-08-04T07:53:21.440Z article:section: Politics og:title: Pope Francis Just Criticized Trump's Immigration Policy Separating Migrant Children From Their Parents og:description: 'Populism is not the solution' og:url: https://time.com/5316987/pope-francis-trump-immigration-policy/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05f9ed0266679f08/6989336acf40a82e30c4c85c/pope-francis.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 4000 og:image:height: 2250 og:image:alt: Pope Francis Attends His Weekly General Audience og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Pope Francis Just Criticized Trump's Immigration Policy Separating Migrant Children From Their Parents twitter:description: 'Populism is not the solution' twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05f9ed0266679f08/6989336acf40a82e30c4c85c/pope-francis.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Pope Francis Just Criticized Trump's Immigration Policy Separating Migrant Children From Their Parents > Sponsored content. 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Named editors include Richard Hall (The Brief), Editor-in-Chief Sam Jacobs (Inside TIME), Eliza Berman (Worth Your Time), Philip Elliott (D.C. Brief), Justin Worland (Future Proof) and Harry Booth (In the Loop). Health Matters is written by TIME's health desk. #### How do I sign up for a TIME newsletter? Go to time.com/newsletters, choose the newsletters you want and enter your email address. There is no cost and no subscription requirement. ## Video: Nearly 2,000 Children Have Been Separated From Their Families During Trump Border Crackdown [Watch (HLS stream): Nearly 2,000 Children Have Been Separated From Their Families During Trump Border Crackdown](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mdVWChjR.m3u8) (3:26)  _Published 2018-06-18. Nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families during a six-week period in April and May, as the Trump Administration cracked down on illegal immigration with a “zero-tolerance” policy of separating families at the border_  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Jun 20, 2018 12:22 PM UTC  Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience, Wednesday, June 20, 2018. Pope Francis arrives for his weekly general audience, Wednesday, June 20, 2018. NurPhoto—NurPhoto via Getty Images  by [Jamie Ducharme](https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/)  ## Jamie Ducharme Ducharme is a contributor to TIME. Jun 20, 2018 12:22 PM UTC Pope Francis joined U.S. Catholic bishops in speaking out against the White House’s [zero-tolerance immigration policy](http://time.com/5314997/donald-trump-immigration-policy-migrant-camp/), which has led to the forced separation of families attempting to illegally cross the Mexican border. “It’s not easy, but populism is not the solution,” Francis [told Reuters](https://af.reuters.com/article/worldNews/idAFKBN1JG0YG), later adding that populists’ immigration policies were “creating psychosis.” Francis also indicated that he agreed with [statements made by members of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops](http://time.com/5313052/gop-republican-children-parents-family-separations-trump-administration/), who called the policy “immoral” and “contrary to our Catholic values.” Bishop Joe Vásquez, chairman of the group’s Committee on Migration, also [sent letters](http://www.usccb.org/news/2018/18-102.cfm) on Monday urging U.S. representatives to create legislation that is “pro-family” and “respectful of human dignity.” In his interview with Reuters, Francis said he is “on the side of the bishops’ conference” and “respect\[s\]” its position. The pope also voiced his support for immigrants on Twitter Wednesday morning. “A person’s dignity does not depend on them being a citizen, a migrant, or a refugee. Saving the life of someone fleeing war and poverty is an act of humanity,” he wrote. > [](https://twitter.com/Pontifex/status/1009400469314138112) The pope’s comments come after Attorney General Jeff Sessions [used the Bible to defend the administration’s policy](http://time.com/5312987/jeff-sessions-separating-immigrant-families/) last week, [citing a passage](http://time.com/5313878/jeff-sessions-left-out-the-key-part-of-the-bible-verse-he-used-to-rationalize-family-separation/) that emphasizes the importance of following laws “because God has ordained them for the purpose of order.” The rationale drew criticism from [some members of Sessions’ own United Methodist Church](http://time.com/5316396/united-methodist-church-discipline-jeff-sessions-child-separation/), though it was backed by White House Press Secretary Sarah Sanders. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5316987/pope-francis-trump-immigration-policy/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5316987/pope-francis-trump-immigration-policy/"},"headline":"Pope Francis Just Criticized Trump's Immigration Policy Separating Migrant Children From Their Parents","datePublished":"2018-06-20T12:22:34.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T07:53:21.440Z","description":"'A person's dignity does not depend on them being a citizen'","url":"https://time.com/5316987/pope-francis-trump-immigration-policy/","keywords":["Immigration","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05f9ed0266679f08/6989336acf40a82e30c4c85c/pope-francis.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jamie Ducharme","jobTitle":"Ducharme is a contributor to TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/jamie-ducharme/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05f9ed0266679f08/6989336acf40a82e30c4c85c/pope-francis.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Pope Francis Attends His Weekly General Audience","caption":"Pope Francis Attends His Weekly General Audience","creditText":"NurPhoto—NurPhoto via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/immigration/","name":"Immigration"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5316987/pope-francis-trump-immigration-policy/","name":"Pope Francis Just Criticized Trump's Immigration Policy Separating Migrant Children From Their Parents"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Nearly 2,000 Children Have Been Separated From Their Families During Trump Border Crackdown","description":"Nearly 2,000 children were separated from their families during a six-week period in April and May, as the Trump Administration cracked down on illegal immigration with a “zero-tolerance” policy of separating families at the border","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/mdVWChjR/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2018-06-18T17:11:32.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/mdVWChjR.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/5316987/pope-francis-trump-immigration-policy/","duration":"PT3M26S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/5316987/pope-francis-trump-immigration-policy/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```