On November 5, 2025, Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, delivered his strongest and most direct criticism yet of U.S. immigration policy under President Donald Trump, urging the nation to engage in "deep reflection" on the treatment of migrants. Speaking to reporters outside his papal retreat at Castel Gandolfo, the Chicago native called attention not only to the physical conditions faced by migrants in detention but also to their often-overlooked spiritual needs.
The context for the Pope’s remarks was a recent incident at the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention center in Broadview, near Chicago. On November 1, the Catholic Feast of All Saints, a delegation of clergy—including a Catholic bishop—attempted to bring Holy Communion to detainees but were denied entry by federal authorities. This refusal, widely reported in the American press, became a flashpoint for growing concerns about the rights of migrants, especially those with deep roots in the United States.
"In the first place, the Church's role is to preach the gospel," Pope Leo told reporters, referencing the Gospel of Matthew, chapter 25. "Jesus says very clearly at the end of the world, we're going to be asked, you know, how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him and welcome him or not? And I think that there's a deep reflection that needs to be made in terms of what's happening." According to the BBC, the Pope’s words were aimed squarely at the controversial policy of mass deportation and the hardline stance on immigration enforcement that has roiled cities across the United States.
Pope Leo, who spent much of his ministry as a missionary in Peru and has himself experienced life as a migrant, emphasized the personal impact of these policies. "Many people who've lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what's going on right now," he said. The pontiff's remarks echoed his earlier statements and papal documents, which have consistently placed poverty and migration at the heart of his papacy.
He was particularly concerned about the spiritual rights of those detained. "The spiritual rights of the people who have been detained should also be considered and I would certainly invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of those people. Many times they've been separated from their families and no one knows what's happening," he stated, as reported by Reuters. The Pope's call was not just for the humane treatment of migrants' physical needs but also for their religious and spiritual care—an aspect he believes is too often neglected.
The issue is not merely theoretical for Pope Leo. As BBC noted, many of those targeted in ICE raids are themselves Catholic, hailing from the Americas and having lived in the U.S. for years. The denial of Communion at the Broadview facility was especially poignant, coming on a major feast day in the Catholic calendar and highlighting the tension between federal enforcement and religious practice. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security has confirmed that more than 3,000 people have been held in Chicago under the current hardline approach.
Leo’s papacy, though more reserved in style than that of his predecessor Pope Francis, has proven no less committed to traditional Church teachings on migration and social justice. Professor Anna Rowlands of Durham University told the BBC that Leo’s response was "entirely orthodox," rooted in over a century of Catholic tradition that insists on protecting families and attending to their spiritual needs. "He has lived in countries affected by these policies, and been welcomed himself as a migrant. He was in effect a migrant bishop," Rowlands observed.
In his first major document as pope, issued on October 9, Leo pleaded for global action to support migrants and invoked one of Francis’s strongest criticisms of Trump. The continuity of message is clear, even if the tone has shifted. Catholic historian Austen Ivereigh remarked, "Now they're waking up to the fact that Leo isn't going to change church teaching for their sake. He's very much a continuation." This has not gone unnoticed by conservative Catholics in the United States, some of whom had hoped Leo’s American background would lead to a more sympathetic view of hardline immigration policies. Instead, Leo has drawn a heated backlash from some of these quarters, particularly as his criticisms have grown more explicit.
The Pope’s remarks extended beyond U.S. borders. Addressing reporters about the Trump administration’s deployment of warships near Venezuela, Pope Leo warned that such moves risked escalating tensions in the region. "We won't win with violence, the (right) thing is to seek dialogue and a correct way to find solutions to the problems that can exist in a country," he said, as reported by Reuters. He stressed that the role of the armed forces should be "to defend peace," not to provoke conflict. The BBC added that the Pope’s comments came after U.S. military action targeting Venezuelan ships suspected of carrying drugs, an approach he suggested was more likely to stoke the flames of unrest than to foster stability.
Pope Leo’s willingness to speak directly to the press—often outside the gates of his summer residence—marks a shift in Vatican transparency. For years, journalists had to wait for papal trips abroad to get close to the head of the Church. Now, Leo’s informal press conferences allow for more immediate engagement on pressing global issues. This accessibility, combined with his American roots and missionary background, has shaped a papacy that is both personal and global in its concerns.
Looking ahead, the Vatican announced that on November 7, 2025, Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas will be received by Pope Leo XIV. This meeting, the first between the two leaders, signals the Pope’s ongoing commitment to dialogue and peace in the Middle East—a region where, as he noted, the situation remains "very fragile" and justice for all peoples is still an elusive goal.
Pope Leo XIV’s message is clear: the treatment of migrants—physically, emotionally, and spiritually—is a test not only of policy but of national conscience. His call for deep reflection, rooted in the Gospel and in lived experience, challenges both U.S. authorities and the broader Catholic community to look beyond politics and see the human beings at the heart of the immigration debate.
