Pope Francis has denounced the provisional plans of U.S. president-elect Donald Trump to carry out a massive deportation of migrants as a "disgrace."

The Pope's brief remarks came in a Sunday night Italian television interview on the eve of Trump's Jan. 20 inauguration for another term as president of the United States where he has pledged to evict millions of immigrants from the country, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

"If it is true, it will be a disgrace, because it makes the poor wretches who have nothing pay the bill for the inequalities," said the Pope of Trump's plans for widespread deportation during an interview with Italian television channel Nove. "It won't do."

Francis has become one of the most vocal global champions of migrants since his election as pontiff in 2013 as he described the incoming president's plans as "not the way to solve things."

Ahead of Trump's first term in office, in 2016, Francis suggested that the then-presidential contender was not a Christian for his plans to erect a wall blocking migrants from crossing the southern U.S. border.

"A person who thinks only about building walls, wherever they may be, and not building bridges, is not Christian," said the Pope at the time.

Trump is to be sworn in as president for a second term of office on Jan. 20 and has spoken of plans for a massive migrant round-up in Chicago.

Separately, in a Jan. 19 statement, Chicago's Cardinal Blase Cupich also condemned those plans as "deeply disturbing."

"The Catholic community stands with the people of Chicago in speaking out in defense of the rights of immigrants and asylum seekers," he said, according to Vatican News.

"Similarly, if the reports are true, it should be known that we would oppose any plan that includes a mass deportation of U.S. citizens born of undocumented parents."

"If the indiscriminate mass deportation being reported were to be carried out, this would be an affront to the dignity of all people and communities, and deny the legacy of what it means to be an American," said Cupich.

The cardinal pointed out that Chicago, like much of the United States, owes its vibrancy and diversity to generations of immigrants.

"There is not a person in Chicago, save the Indigenous people, who have not benefited from this legacy," he noted.

Cardinal Cupich highlighted the importance of balancing lawful immigration enforcement with the defense of human dignity and rights.

He noted, "We support the legitimate efforts of law enforcement to protect the safety and security of our communities - criminality cannot be countenanced when committed by immigrants or longtime citizens."