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DC archbishop hits 'out of control' illegal immigration under Biden, but criticizes 'roundup' under Trump
By Hanna Panreck
Published April 13, 2026
Archbishop of Washington, D.C., Cardinal Robert McElroy said Sunday that former President Biden's open border policy was "out of control," but he also took issue with President Donald Trump's immigration policy.
"I feel it got to a point where it was getting out of control," he told CBS' "60 Minutes," as host Norah O'Donnell confirmed he meant under Biden's presidency.
O'Donnell asked, "You believe in strong borders?"
"Yes," he said. O'Donnell pressed McElroy on what was wrong with Trump's current policy if he believed in secure borders.
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Cardinal Robert McElroy said immigration got out of control under President Biden, but criticized the "roundup" tactics of the Trump administration during "60 Minutes" on April 12, 2026. (Sean Rayford/Getty Images; Alberto Pizzoli/AFP via Getty Images; Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)
"This is a roundup of people throughout the country. People who have been living good, strong lives, been here a long time, raised their children here, many of their children born here and are citizens. That's what our objection is," he said.
Biden's office did not immediately return Fox News Digital's request for comment.
"President Trump was elected as the President of the United States based on the many promises he made to the American people, including his promise to deport criminal illegal aliens. He is keeping his promise to the American people," White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital in a statement.
McElroy served as the bishop of San Diego before becoming the Archbishop of D.C. Pope Francis tapped McElroy to become the archbishop of Washington, D.C., in January 2025.
McElroy previously described Trump's immigration policy as an "assault."
"We are witnessing a comprehensive governmental assault designed to produce fear and terror among millions of men and women," he said in September 2025, according to The Washington Post.
The archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich, as well as Cardinals Robert McElroy of Washington, D.C., and Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey, speak on "60 Minutes" on April 12, 2026. (CBS/60Minutes)
O'Donnell noted that Trump ran on mass deportations throughout his campaign.
"And yet President Trump won the Catholic vote over Kamala Harris handily, 55 to 43%. He promised to secure the border. He talked about deportation. And a majority of Catholics voted for the policy," O'Donnell told the group of American cardinals she interviewed for the segment.
O'Donnell spoke to McElory, as well as Cardinal Blase Cupich, the archbishop of Chicago, and Cardinal Joseph Tobin of Newark, New Jersey.
"I would like to know what Catholics feel about this indiscriminate mass deportation. I think that it's very clear the American people are saying, 'We really didn't vote for this,'" Cupich told O'Donnell.
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Newly named cardinal Robert Walter McElroy, speaks, during a press conference at the Vatican, Saturday, Aug. 27, 2022. (Andrew Medichini/AP)
She also asked the group about what they would say to churchgoers who don't want their priests weighing in on politics.
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"I say fine. I want to preach the gospel. God wants us to promote peace in the world — because his desire is that we be one human family," Cupich responded.
https://www.foxnews.com/media/dc-archbishop-hits-out-control-illegal-immigration-biden-criticizes-roundup-under-trump