The former White House strategist, Steve Bannon, said in an interview on CBS’s “60 Minutes” that the Roman Catholic Church criticized President Donald Trump’s decision to end DACA because it relies on “illegal aliens to fill the churches.”
He continued, “Catholic bishops condemn him because they have an economic interest. They have an economic interest in unlimited immigration, unlimited illegal immigration.”
When CBS’s Charlie Rose pointed out that the claim seemed to be an awfully harsh, Bannon responded: “As much as I respect Cardinal Dolan and the bishops on doctrine, this is not doctrine. I totally respect the pope and the Catholic bishops and cardinals on doctrine. This is not about doctrine. This is about the sovereignty of a nation.”
Bannon was responding to questions about Trump’s decision, announced September 5, to wind down Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, the Obama-era program that allowed undocumented immigrants who came to the U.S. as children before 2007 to remain in the country, affecting more than 800,000 people under the program.
The Catholic Church’s stance on the matter was voiced by the head of New York City’s archdiocese, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, who called Trump’s decision “an ominous development” and pledged to support Dreamers.
Cardinal Dolan stated: “This is contrary to the spirit of the Bible and of our country, and a turning away from the ideals upon which our beloved country was founded. All of the Dreamers who now face such uncertainty and fear, please know that the Catholic Church loves you, welcomes you, and will fight to protect your rights and your dignity.”
Also, Church leaders supported Obama’s efforts to help undocumented immigrants, and some Catholic churches have opened their doors to them as part of the “sanctuary” movement. Fact that obviously would not sit well with the far-right wing supporter and former White House strategist.
Bannon has also defended Trump’s widely controversial response to last month’s violence in Charlottesville, Virginia, in which the President was reluctant to directly single out the white supremacist, KKK and neo-Nazi groups who incited the violence.
Trump’s former strategist stated: “What he was trying to say is that people that support the monument staying there peacefully and people that oppose that, that’s the normal course of First Amendment.”
After being ousted from the White House last month in the middle of growing tensions and a backlash of scandals and controversies within the Trump administration, Bannon has returned to the right-wing website Breitbart News, which he led before joining Trump’s campaign last summer.