A growing clash between the White House and the Vatican is intensifying as border czar Tom Homan pushes back against criticism from Pope Leo XIV over immigration and global policy.
Speaking outside the White House, Homan said he is ready to engage directly with Vatican leadership. “I welcome discussion with any of them,” he said. But he made his position clear, adding, “I wish they’d stay out of immigration, they don’t know what they’re talking about.”
Homan, a lifelong Catholic, pointed to the human cost of illegal immigration. “Illegal immigration is not a victimless crime,” he said. He described firsthand scenes from the border, including “a 9-year-old girl that got raped multiple times” and standing “in the back of a tractor trailer with 19 dead aliens at my feet, including a 5-year-old boy that baked to death.” He said those realities shape his view and would change minds if others experienced them.
He also defended Donald Trump and his border policies. “He’s saving thousands of lives a year because he has a secure border,” Homan said. “Where President Trump had the most secure border in the lifetime of this nation, right now, lives are being saved.” He added that enforcement has crippled criminal networks, saying, “Human traffickers are out of business. The cartels are going bankrupt because of that secure border.”
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Pope Leo has taken a different tone. He said, “I think every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter,” but raised concerns about how enforcement is carried out. “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,” he said, urging Americans to listen to church leaders.
The disagreement has spilled into sharp public criticism. Trump wrote that “Pope Leo is WEAK on Crime, and terrible for Foreign Policy,” and called on him to “get his act together as Pope” and “focus on being a Great Pope, not a Politician.”
Trump also addressed the pope’s stance on global threats, telling reporters, “We don’t like a pope that’s going to say that it’s OK to have a nuclear weapon.” He added, “We don’t want a pope that says crime is OK in our cities. I don’t like it. I’m not a big fan of Pope Leo.”
Pope Leo responded with a steady tone. “I have no fear of the Trump administration,” he said. “The things that I say are certainly not meant as attacks on anyone.” He pointed to a broader mission, saying, “I will continue to speak out loudly against war, looking to promote peace, promoting dialogue and multilateral relationships among the states to look for just solutions to problems.” He added, “Too many people are suffering in the world today. Too many innocent people are being killed. And I think someone has to stand up and say there’s a better way.”
Vice President JD Vance struck a more measured tone. “In some cases, it would be best for the Vatican to stick to matters of morality and let the president of the United States stick to dictating American public policy,” he said. At the same time, he dismissed the tension as manageable, noting, “We certainly have a good relationship with the Vatican, but we’re also going to disagree on substantive questions from time to time. I think that’s a totally reasonable thing.”
The back-and-forth highlights a widening divide over immigration and only appears to be getting worse by the day. Let us join together in prayer that there be a moment of reconciliation between the White House and the Vatican.
James Lasher, a seasoned writer and editor at Charisma Media, combines faith and storytelling with a journalism background from Otterbein University and ministry experience in Guatemala and at the LA Dream Center. A Marine Corps and Air Force veteran, he is the author of The Revelation of Jesus: A Common Man’s Commentary and a contributor to Charisma magazine. For interviews and media inquiries, please contact [email protected].
