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Pope Leo XIV Backs US Bishops’ Rebuke of President Trump's Immigration Policies

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  November 19, 2025 11:30 AM

Pope Leo XIV came out in support of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops' (USCCB) statement criticizing the Trump administration's treatment of illegal immigrants on Tuesday. He described the bishops as "people of goodwill" and their condemnation as "a very important statement." He urged people to listen very carefully to what they had to say.

"We have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have. If people are in the United States illegally, there are ways to treat that. There are courts. There's a system of justice," Leo said. "I think there are a lot of problems in the system."

"No one has said that the United States should have open borders. I think every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter," he continued. "But when people are living good lives, and many of them for 10, 15, 20 years, to treat them in a way that is extremely disrespectful, to say the least — and there's been some violence, unfortunately — I think that the bishops have been very clear in what they said."

"I would just invite all people in the United States to listen to them," he concluded. 

Just last week, the USCCB released a video condemning the White House's "inhumane" deportation raids. 

White House officials blasted their condemnation, arguing that President Trump was keeping the promises he made during his campaign, which included "deport[ing] criminal illegal aliens."

Border Czar Tom Homan, a practicing Catholic, also responded to the condemnation, arguing: "I think they need to spend time fixing the Catholic Church," rather than condemning the president's actions.