Pope Leo XIV, the first American-born pontiff, has sharply criticized U.S. President Donald Trump’s mass deportation policies and military strikes on Venezuela, urging reflection, restraint, and compassion toward migrants.
According to BBC News reporting, Pope Leo XIV has called for “deep reflection” on the treatment of migrants in the United States, warning that President Donald Trump’s hardline deportation policy has “deeply affected” people who have lived peacefully in the country for years.
In one of his strongest public criticisms of the Trump administration, the first American-born pope also cautioned that U.S. airstrikes on Venezuelan ships suspected of carrying drugs could heighten regional tensions. “I think that with violence we won’t win,” Pope Leo said during an impromptu press briefing at Castel Gandolfo.
Speaking in English to directly reach a U.S. audience, he reminded Christians that they will ultimately be judged by how they “welcomed the foreigner.”
Catholic historian Austen Ivereigh told the BBC that Leo’s remarks were “very strong,” noting the Pope’s clear reference to immigration enforcement raids by ICE.
Born in Chicago as Robert Prevost, Pope Leo spent much of his life as a missionary in Peru, shaping his sensitivity to migration and poverty. “He has lived in countries affected by these policies and been welcomed himself as a migrant,” said Professor Anna Rowlands of Durham University.
The Pope has also urged U.S. authorities to allow pastoral access to Catholic detainees in immigration centers near Chicago, emphasizing that “many people targeted in the ICE raids are Catholic.”
Observers say Leo’s growing moral stance signals a new, outspoken papacy that—while stylistically distinct from Pope Francis—continues the Church’s long-standing teachings on compassion, justice, and peace.