Trump administration border czar Tom Homan said Wednesday he has invited Pope Leo XIV to join Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents on a ride-along, sharpening a public dispute between the Vatican and President Donald Trump's administration over immigration enforcement.
Homan made the remarks during a Turning Point USA event at Baylor University, where he confirmed he wants the Chicago-born pontiff to see the administration's border and interior enforcement approach up close.
"Yes," Homan said when asked whether he was inviting the Pope on a ride-along.
"I will sit down and talk to him," Homan said. "Because they're talking about something that they don't understand."
Homan also defended the administration's broader crackdown, saying, "I'll explain to them what happened under the Biden administration. An open border is the most inhumane thing you can do."
"When you make that promise to the whole world, the most vulnerable people will give their life savings to the cartels to make that dangerous journey," Homan said. "The most humane thing you can do," he said, "is secure the border."
He went on to praise Trump's immigration record, saying, "President Trump has illegal immigration down 96.7% ... When 97% less people are coming, how many women aren't being raped? How many children aren't dying? How many pounds of fentanyl is not getting in to kill Americans? How many known suspected terrorists aren't making it into the United States?"
Federal border data published by U.S. Customs and Border Protection show that southwest land border encounters remained far below levels seen during the Biden years, even though March posted an increase from February.
The exchange comes after weeks of friction between Trump and Pope Leo, who became the first American Pope when he was elected in May 2025.
Newsmax reported April 14 that Homan had already urged the Vatican to "stay out of immigration" as he defended Trump in the administration's growing clash with the Pope.
Pope Leo has not backed away from criticizing harsh treatment of migrants, but in comments published during his return flight from Africa this week he also said nations have a right to control their borders.
"I personally believe that a state has the right to impose rules for its frontiers," Leo said.
At the same time, the Pope said migrants "deserve to be respected in their human dignity and not be treated 'worse than house pets, animals.'"
Leo also sought to tamp down the broader feud with Trump, saying days earlier that "it was looked at as if I was trying to debate, again, the president, which is not my interest at all."
Vice President JD Vance welcomed that tone, saying he was "grateful to Pope Leo" for trying to lower the temperature.
The Vatican has said Leo has no plans to travel to the United States in 2026, making any such ICE visit unlikely for now.
Theodore Bunker ✉
Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.
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