On Tuesday, November 4, 2025, Pope Leo XIV sent a message to the Trump administration, urging a thorough reconsideration of the handling of migrants in U.S. detention facilities and emphasizing the necessity to uphold the spiritual rights of these detainees.
The Chicago-born Pope addressed reporters at Castel Gandolfo, his papal retreat, expressing concerns over the access to religious services at immigration detention centers, especially at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement facility in Broadview, Illinois. He highlighted the distress that current enforcement policies have caused to migrants who have lived peacefully in the U.S. for years.
“I would certainly invite the authorities to allow pastoral workers to attend to the needs of those people,” Pope Leo stated. “Many times they’ve been separated from their families for a good amount of time; no one knows what’s happening, but their own spiritual needs should be attended to.”
His comments were in response to concerns regarding the Broadview facility, where local clergy have been consistently denied permission by federal authorities to facilitate Holy Communion for detainees. Last month, several Catholic priests were barred from offering the sacrament to migrants at the facility by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
Another group, including Bishop Jose María García-Maldonado of the Chicago Archdiocese, experienced a similar refusal on November 1—All Saints’ Day, one of the most sacred days in the Catholic calendar. A DHS spokesperson had previously stated that due to security threats to civilians, detainees, and officers, the facility could not host visitors. The department also depicted the protests outside the facility as involving violent crowds and “rioters.”
A federal judge in Chicago, Illinois, subsequently described the Trump administration’s depiction of lawless protests outside Broadview as “simply unreliable.”
Pope Leo emphasized that scripture poses an important question regarding the treatment of foreigners, necessitating serious contemplation on current immigration enforcement methods.
During the question-and-answer session with reporters, the Pope also addressed broader geopolitical issues, including U.S. military operations against suspected drug traffickers near Venezuela and the unstable ceasefire in the Middle East.
Referring to the Middle East peace process, Leo acknowledged the fragility of the initial phase of the agreement between Israel and Hamas. He insisted on the need to find solutions for future governance that ensure the rights of all people.
Pope Leo XIV welcomed Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas at the Vatican on November 6. Towards the end of November, he visited Turkey and Lebanon, marking his first trip as Pope to these conflict-affected regions with pressing humanitarian issues.
Despite not having had a direct meeting, the Pope’s public criticisms of Trump escalated through November and December. On December 9, Trump indicated to Politico in an interview that he was “open to meeting with Pope Leo” and responded to the pontiff’s criticism of his immigration policy. However, no meeting was arranged.
Following his meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky at Castel Gandolfo on December 9, Pope Leo intensified his criticism, cautioning that Trump’s Ukraine peace plan and antagonistic rhetoric towards Europe could potentially disintegrate the longstanding U.S.-European alliance. He described Trump’s approach as a significant shift from the long-standing partnership between Europe and the U.S.
The Pope continued his criticism through Christmas. In his inaugural Christmas address on December 25, Pope Leo, without mentioning Trump by name, delivered a subtle critique of Trump’s immigration crackdown, urging empathy for migrants “fleeing their homeland to seek a future elsewhere, like the many refugees and migrants who cross the Mediterranean or traverse the American continent.”
On December 20, Pope Leo appointed Rev. Manuel de Jesús Rodríguez, a pro-immigration pastor known for his advocacy for migrant assistance and opposition to deportations, as the new bishop of Palm Beach, Florida—home to Trump’s Mar-a-Lago residence. Rodríguez, originally from the Dominican Republic and a strong supporter of immigrant rights, confessed he was “even a little bit scared” by the sudden appointment. This move was widely seen as a symbolic criticism of the Trump administration’s immigration policies.
