A petition created by a Christian group accusing Vice President JD Vance of going against Jesus for his comments that promote the hardline immigration policies of President Donald Trump‘s administration has over 19,000 signatures, close to its goal of 20,000 signatures.
Newsweek reached out to Vance’s office via email for comment on Thursday.
Why It Matters
The Trump administration’s immigration policies, mainly the mass deportation of people living in the United States illegally, have garnered a lot of attention around the world, even from Pope Francis and other followers of Christianity.
Trump made immigration a central theme of his presidential campaign and Americans largely support his plans to execute mass deportations of illegal immigrants.
A New York Times/Ipsos poll, carried out from January 2 to 10, found 55 percent of voters strongly or somewhat supported such plans. Eighty-eight percent supported “Deporting immigrants who are here illegally and have criminal records.” Large majorities of Democrats and Republicans agreed that the immigration system is broken.
On Tuesday, Pope Francis issued a forceful condemnation of Trump’s mass deportation policy, warning in a letter to American bishops that expelling migrants solely on the basis of their immigration status strips them of their dignity and “will end badly.”
What To Know
Last week, Faithful America, an organization of Christians supporting social justice causes, posted a petition on its website calling on Vance, a practicing Catholic, to “show mercy, grace, and compassion to our immigrant neighbors and adopt policies that honor their inherent dignity and humanity.”
The petition referenced comments that Vance had recently made on television when responding to backlash about the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
Kent Nishimura/Getty Images
What Did JD Vance Say?
Speaking to CBS‘ Margaret Brennan on Face the Nation late last month, Vance accused the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) of having “not been a good partner in common sense immigration enforcement”…
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