Vatican Migration Chief Calls for Expanded Legal Pathways and Pushes Back on “Illegal” Label
Cardinal Fabio Baggio, a senior official at the Vatican Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development and a key point person on migration, is urging governments to expand legal pathways for migrants as a practical way to reduce irregular border crossings and weaken trafficking networks. He warned that overly restrictive policies can backfire by pushing people into unsafe routes and empowering smugglers who profit from desperation.
Baggio said the Church does not promote irregular migration. Instead, he argued that creating regular corridors for work, protection, and family reunification is essential for both public order and human dignity. He stressed that people fleeing conflict, persecution, or disaster often arrive without visas or passports because they have no realistic way to obtain them, and he pointed to international obligations to protect those seeking refuge.
A central part of his message focused on what he called a negative narrative around migrants that can distort public perception. He noted that language itself can turn fear into discrimination when people stop speaking about persons and instead reduce them to labels. He criticized the use of terms like “illegals,” arguing that it erases the human subject and suggests that a person’s identity is defined by an administrative status. In his view, even when someone is present in an irregular situation, fundamental rights remain intact and charity must not be conditioned on paperwork.
The cardinal also addressed the balance between national sovereignty and humanitarian responsibility. He acknowledged that states have a right to monitor borders, identify those requesting entry, and deny access when there is a genuine danger. Yet he said that control without lawful alternatives often produces the opposite outcome, opening back doors and increasing irregular flows. He urged policies that keep the person and the family at the center, including pathways that allow families to remain together rather than forcing separation.
Baggio rejected claims that the Church’s migration work is driven by a desire for government funding. He said many Catholic responses are sustained by local charity and volunteers even when resources are scarce. He described the suggestion that the Vatican should simply open its walls as superficial, noting that the Church’s response is seen in local communities that accompany migrants once permissions are granted, helping with integration, language, housing, and employment support.
He also said Pope Leo XIV shares a pastoral concern for migrants similar in substance to that of Pope Francis, though expressed in a different style. Baggio said the pope’s approach emphasizes close engagement with local churches and the need to prepare for future pressures, including technological shifts that could reshape employment and widen inequality. He said the Church’s task is to keep advocating for safe, regular, and orderly migration while working so that people can also enjoy the right not to emigrate, through development, stability, and protection of human dignity at home.
