Pope Leo XIV used America’s 250th birthday celebration to deliver a not-so-subtle reminder to President Donald Trump that immigrants helped build the United States.
In a message released Friday, the first American-born pope praised the nation’s founding ideals of liberty, equality, and democracy. But he also devoted a significant portion of the letter to defending immigrants, a subject that has become one of the sharpest points of tension between the Vatican and the Trump administration.
“Defending human life also includes welcoming, protecting and assisting immigrants,” Leo wrote.
“In every generation, those who have arrived seeking freedom, opportunity and a place to belong have helped to shape the nation’s character.”
His pointed message comes as Trump continues to make his immigration crackdown a centerpiece of his second term.
The pontiff’s message repeatedly returned to themes that have put him at odds with the White House, including the dignity of migrants and the responsibility to care for society’s most vulnerable.
“To receive them with compassion and generosity is not only an act of charity,” Leo wrote of immigrants, “but also a recognition of the dignity that belongs to every human person.”
The letter highlights the growing divide between Pope Leo and the Trump administration. Last month, Leo criticized policies that remove migrants without addressing why they fled their home countries in the first place.
“We don’t recognize the reason why these people were forced to leave their home countries,” he said, citing “violence, war, conflict.”
“To simply say, ‘We’re going to send them away and wash our hands of the problem’ doesn’t seem like the most Christian response.”
His position has drawn pushback from some of Trump’s most prominent Catholic allies. Earlier this week, Vice President JD Vance, who converted to Catholicism in 2019, said he disagreed with the Vatican’s stance on immigration, arguing that leaders must also consider “the dignity of the native-born people who have had their lives upended.”
As Trump spends the holiday presiding over Fourth of July festivities and a massive patriotic celebration, Leo is heading to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a symbolic gateway for migrants crossing the Mediterranean.
Revenant Antonio Spadaro, a senior Vatican official, described the trip as an “unofficial statement.”
“This journey comes at a moment when the United States has made the closing of its doors to migrants a banner,” Spadaro said. “His choice is not a head-on polemic... but a counterpoint.”
