Pope Leo Criticizes Trump's Deportation Policy

Pope Leo has criticized the treatment of illegal migrants held in detention in the United States, specifically expressing concerns about their "spiritual rights" after reports they'd been denied access to Communion, the latest flashpoint amid growing tensions between the Vatican and the Trump White House in recent months.

Pope Leo XIV, the first American ever chosen to lead the Catholic church, on Tuesday called for faith leaders to be given access to the facilities detaining migrants after reports emerged those being held at the Broadview immigration site in Illinois were denied Communion on All Saints Day and Día de los Muertos last weekend.

The Pope quoted scripture, reiterated that migrants’ “spiritual needs should be attended to” and called for “deep reflection about what is happening” in the United States.

The comments were the latest to contribute to growing tension between the Vatican and the Trump administration, specifically about the president’s harsh enforcement of immigration policies.

Pope Leo in September suggested that people who support the “inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States” may not be “pro life," to which White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt responded the Trump administration was "trying to enforce our nation’s laws in the most humane way possible."

One week later, the Pope met with a group of Catholics from El Paso, Texas, who have said they are scared to go to Mass for fear of being arrested by ICE agents, telling them he stands with them and that it was important the Catholic church speak "forcefully and in unity" about the issue of immigration enforcement.

The Trump White House had a long history of clashes with the late Pope Francis before his death in April, which came to a head when the pope sent a letter to American bishops in February denouncing Trump’s mass deportation agenda and slamming Vance’s understanding of a theological concept called “ordo amoris,” or "rightly-ordered love."

“How did you receive the foreigner, did you receive him and welcome him, or not?” Pope Leo said Tuesday. “I think there is a deep reflection that needs to be made about what is happening.”