Pope Francis again advocated for more openness to immigration at the global level, saying that those who are working actively to repel it are committing a "grave sin."
Speaking in his weekly address, the pontiff called on people to be more empathetic with migrants, saying they are "crossing seas and deserts to reach a land where they can live in peace and safety."
"It must be said clearly: There are those who work systematically and use every mean possible to repel migrants. And this, when done with awareness, is a grave sin. Let us not forget what the Bible tells us: 'You shall not wrong a stranger or oppress him," Francis added during a passage of his allocution.
The pope went on to say that seas and deserts are concepts that apply to other terrains: "I also mean ocean, lave, river, all the insidious bodies of water that so many brothers and sisters all over the world are forced to cross to reach their destination." "And 'desert' is not only sand and dunes or rocks, but also inaccessible and dangerous territories such as forests, jungles, steppes where migrants walk alone."
Francis was speaking broadly, but he has also recently made specific references to policies aimed at deterring migration in the U.S. Specifically, he criticized Texas officials' efforts to shut down Annunciation House, a Catholic charity that helps undocumented migrants seeking to reach the United States, in the state.
"That is madness, sheer madness to close the border and leave them there. That is madness. The migrant has to be received. Thereafter, you see how you're going to deal with them. Maybe after you send them back, I don't know. But each case ought to be considered humanely, right?" Pope Francis said in an interview with CBS News' 60 Minutes in May.
Texas' efforts to this end began in February and are part of a wider crackdown seeking to drastically reduce the amount of migrants reaching its territory. Back then, Attorney General Ken Paxton sued the organization saying it has encouraged illegal entry into the U.S. and in practice operates as a stash house.
However, despite Paxton's efforts, an El Paso judge rejected the request in July. Judge Francisco Domínguez said that the AG's claim, "even if accepted as true, does not establish a violation" of state laws prohibiting human smuggling. He added that state laws are preempted by federal ones and therefore are "unenforceable."
He also said that the state's claim "violates the Texas Religious Freedom Restoration Act by substantially burdening Annunciation House's free exercise of religion and failing to use the 'least restrictive means' of securing compliance with the law," Texas Tribune reported.
Advocates defending Annunciation House celebrated the news. A member of Texas RioGrande Legal Aid, representing the shelter network, said that volunteers "have a lot of work to do and they just continue to do it. They can just do it more at peace today than they did yesterday."
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