Trump Increasingly At Odds With Christian Leaders Over Immigration Crackdown: 'Deeply Troubling'

A growing number of Christian leaders is speaking out against President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown, criticizing measures the new administration has already begun carrying out less than a week into office.

The latest one to do so is Archbishop Timothy P. Broglio, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, who said in a statement that parts of Trump's executive orders are "deeply troubling and will have negative consequences, many of which will harm the most vulnerable among us."

Broglio was referring specifically to immigration-related orders, as well as others regarding foreign aid, the expansion of the death penalty and the environment, including leaving the Paris Accords.

The statement comes shortly after a Bishop asked Trump for "mercy" for LGBTQ+ children and immigrants at a prayer service attended by the president following his inauguration. d Bishop Mariann Edgar Budde defended her decision, saying "I had what I felt was in my heart to say, and I had to leave it to them, to all of us, to take from whatever my words were."

"There are gay, lesbian and transgender children in Democratic, Republican and independent families, some who fear for their lives," she said during the service. "I ask you to have mercy, Mr. President, on those in our communities whose children fear that their parents will be taken away, and that you help those who are fleeing war zones and persecution in their own lands to find compassion and welcome here," Budde continued.

Trump, however, rejected the pleas. "They could do much better," he said. He later took to his social media platform, Truth Social, to expand: "The so-called Bishop who spoke at the National Prayer Service on Tuesday morning was a Radical Left hard line Trump hater. She brought her church into the World of politics in a very ungracious way. She was nasty in tone, and not compelling or smart."

"Apart from her inappropriate statements, the service was a very boring and uninspiring one. She is not very good at her job! She and her church owe the public an apology!" he continued.

Budde was not alone, however, as Pope Francis also criticized Trump's intentions, saying they would be a "disgrace" as it "makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the bill."

Speaking at a talk show in Italy, the pontiff, who has been vocal about his opposition to such policies, said "this is not the way to solve things." "That's not how things are resolved," he added.

Pope Francis has repeatedly made headlines when discussing or acting on the matter, the latest episode taking place after appointing Cardinal Robert McElroy, an advocate for immigration and a critic of Trump, as the new Archbishop of Washington D.C.