Pope Leo has escalated his quiet but growing feud with the Trump administration, instructing U.S. bishops to take a stronger public stand against the president’s hardline immigration policies, according to Reuters.
Meeting a delegation of bishops and social workers from the U.S.-Mexico border at the Vatican on Wednesday, the first American-born pope urged them to “speak strongly” on behalf of migrants and refugees affected by Trump’s deportation drive.
El Paso Bishop Mark Seitz, who attended the meeting, said Leo, who was born and raised in Chicago, was visibly moved after being handed dozens of letters from immigrants describing their fears of arrest and separation under the administration’s enforcement policies.
“Our Holy Father is very personally concerned about these matters,” Seitz told Reuters. “He expressed his desire that the U.S. Bishops’ Conference would speak strongly on this issue.”
Leo’s reported remarks mark the latest—and most direct—intervention by the pontiff in U.S. domestic politics since his election in May to replace the late Pope Francis. While initially cautious, the pontiff has recently sharpened his criticism of President Donald Trump’s agenda, particularly on immigration and social policy.
Just last week, Leo, 70, publicly questioned whether the Trump administration’s anti-immigration measures were compatible with the Catholic Church’s pro-life principles—a comment that triggered sharp backlash from conservative U.S. Catholics and the White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt.
Leavitt said she “would reject there was inhumane treatment of illegal immigrants in the United States under this administration.”
However, Leo’s latest move underscores a shift in tone from his early papacy. Initially viewed as more restrained than Francis, Leo has increasingly positioned himself as a moral counterweight to Trump’s hardline policies.
One of the letters given to Leo on Wednesday, shared with Reuters, came from a family living in fear of deportation. “I believe the Pope should speak out openly against the raids and the unfair treatment the community is experiencing,” the note, written in Spanish, read.
The pope also met privately Tuesday with about 100 American Catholics involved in migrant ministry, thanking them for their work.
Leo has previously distanced himself from his older brother, Louis Prevost’s MAGA views and privately urged Vice President JD Vance to respect the dignity of “all people” wherever they’re born.
He has also voiced his support for Gaza and Ukraine, and called for an end to the kind of aggressive rhetoric favored by the Trump administration.
A number of high-profile Trump administration officials are Catholic, including Leavitt, Secretary of State Marco Rubio, who joined Vance for a sit-down with Leo soon after his inaugural Mass in May, and border czar Tom Homan, who is one of the architects of Trump’s deportation policy.
White House spokesperson Abigail Jackson responded to the Pope’s reported critique by saying, “President Trump was elected as the President of the United States based on the many promises he made to the American people, including his promise to deport criminal illegal aliens. He is keeping his promise to the American people.”
The Holy See press office was also contacted for comment.
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