Pope Leo XIV Condemns Trump Immigration Raids as ‘Extremely Disrespectful’

In a rare and pointed political intervention, Pope Leo XIV, the first American pope in history, publicly condemned former President Donald Trump’s renewed immigration enforcement efforts, calling them “extremely disrespectful” and urging Americans to treat migrants including those in the country illegally with dignity and compassion.

Leo’s comments came in direct support of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, which issued a sharp statement during last week’s general assembly in Baltimore denouncing Trump’s mass deportation agenda and what they called the “vilification” of immigrants.

“We are disturbed when we see among our people a climate of fear and anxiety around questions of profiling and immigration enforcement,” the bishops’ statement read.
“We are saddened by the state of contemporary debate and the vilification of immigrants. We are concerned about the conditions in detention centers and the lack of access to pastoral care.”

The statement marked the first time since 2013 that the bishops have issued a single-issue message during one of their national meetings and the pope wasted no time signaling full support.

Speaking to reporters at his residence outside Rome, Pope Leo said, “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.”

This is not the first time the Catholic Church has waded into American immigration debates but it’s one of the most overt displays of alignment against Trump’s policies.

Leo added that while every country has the right to regulate its borders, that doesn’t mean sacrificing humanity or justice. “There are courts, there’s a system of justice,” he said. “But we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have.”

Here’s what’s driving this escalating clash:

• Trump’s revived mass deportation push has triggered fear among immigrant communities, particularly after raids resumed at churches, schools, and hospitals.

• Catholic parishes in immigrant-heavy areas report declining Mass attendance as fears of being detained during worship grow.

• The Vatican under Pope Leo XIV has placed renewed emphasis on “social justice,” putting it at odds with conservative immigration enforcement efforts.

Catholic leaders have expressed concern that Trump’s policies are eroding trust within immigrant communities many of whom make up the backbone of the Church in the U.S. In recent years, Hispanics alone have accounted for over 40% of U.S. Catholic growth, a figure not lost on a pope who wants to shore up the Church’s future in America.

Meanwhile, Pope Leo took a veiled jab at Trump’s critics who accuse the Vatican of wanting “open borders,” clarifying that “nobody has argued” for such a thing only that “living good people” deserve more than cold expulsions and armed raids.

But it’s clear the Vatican is sending a message: Trump’s approach to immigration is morally unacceptable in the eyes of the Catholic hierarchy, even as the former president frames his policy as a matter of national sovereignty and law enforcement.

Whether Pope Leo’s comments will influence American voters remains to be seen. But the sharp contrast between Trump’s hardline stance and the Church’s humanitarian message is growing harder to ignore.

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