President Donald Trump’s border czar, Tom Homan, defended the president’s escalating dispute with Pope Leo XIV and urged the Vatican to “stay out of immigration,” according to an account of his remarks reported by The Hill.
Homan made the comments Tuesday outside the White House, where he said he was speaking for himself as a lifelong Catholic and argued that church leaders should avoid weighing in on U.S. immigration policy, The Hill reported.
He said critics of the administration’s border crackdown would reconsider their views if they visited the southern border, citing what he described as encounters with trafficking victims and migrant deaths in support of the administration’s approach, according to The Hill’s account.
Homan also addressed a now-deleted Truth Social image that appeared to depict Trump in a religious scene, saying the president denied any intended religious symbolism and believed the post showed him as a doctor “healing” people, The Hill reported.
The remarks came amid a broader public clash between Trump and Leo over immigration and foreign policy, according to The Hill.
Trump has separately criticized the Pope as “weak on crime” and “terrible for foreign policy,” according to public comments and video of his remarks circulated by C-SPAN.
The Pope has responded by saying he has “no fear of the Trump administration” and that he is simply preaching the gospel, according to the same coverage.
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