Vance Rejects Vatican Criticism of US Immigration Policy

US Vice President JD Vance said on Tuesday that he disagreed with the Vatican’s views on immigration, describing them as “troubling”, after repeated comments from Pope Leo XIV criticizing President Donald Trump’s immigration crackdown.

Leo, the first US pope, has called for “deep reflection” in the US about how migrants are treated under Trump. He has also described the administration as “extremely disrespectful” to immigrants and criticized what he called “their inhuman” treatment.

“I do think that some of the things that have come out of the Vatican on the immigration question in particular have been troubling, and ultimately I disagree with it”, Vance, a Catholic, said in an interview with Fox News.

“What I tell the Catholic leadership I talk to who disagree with our immigration policies, you know, I’m not hostile about it. I invite them to have the conversation but I also encourage them to remember that mass migration has victims.”

The Trump administration has pursued a hardline immigration crackdown and deportation drive. Rights groups say the measures have violated free speech and due process rights and created an unsafe environment, particularly for ethnic minorities, who have raised concerns about racial profiling. Trump says his aim is to improve domestic security and curb illegal immigration.

Leo has also criticized other Trump policies. The Vatican has declined to join Trump’s so-called “Board of Peace” initiative for Gaza. The Pope has also criticized the Iran war and recently praised an interim deal between Washington and Tehran that he said he hoped would end the conflict.

(Reuters, Lud)