Monday 11th May, 2026
New Delhi: Former White House senior advisor Steve Bannon, who was sacked by President Donald Trump in August, dropped a bombshell on Thursday when he claimed that the Catholic church needs illegal migrants to fill its coffers.
Bannon, who made the outrageous claim on CBS’ 60 Minutes, was responding to prominent Catholic bishops criticising Trump’s decision to roll back the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) programme, which allowed certain illegal immigrants, who entered the US as minors, to receive a renewable two-year reprieve from deportation.
“The Catholic church has been terrible about (DACA). By the way, do you know why? Because unable to come to grips with the problems of the church… they need illegal aliens to fill the churches. It’s obvious on the face of it… They have an economic interest in unlimited immigration,” Bannon said.
Bannon parted ways with Trump on August 18, a week after the race-riots and subsequent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia.