White House pushes back on Pope Leo’s statement that immigrants are subject to ‘inhuman treatment’ in the U.S.

The Trump administration has again found itself tussling with the pope.

Press secretary Karoline Leavitt on Wednesday pushed back on Pope Leo XIV’s suggestion Tuesday that people who support the “inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States” may not be “pro life.”

“Someone who says I’m against abortion but is in favor of the death penalty is not really pro-life,” added the American-born pope. The pontiff’s comments came in response to reporters’ questions about the Chicago Archdiocese’s plan to give a lifetime achievement award to Sen. Dick Durbin, a Democrat who supports abortion rights and represents Leo’s home state of Illinois.

Leavitt said she “would reject there was inhumane treatment of illegal immigrants in the United States under this administration,” then criticized former President Joe Biden’s immigration policies and highlighted some of the violent crimes committed by undocumented immigrants.

“This administration is trying to enforce our nation’s laws in the most humane way possible, and we are upholding the law,” she said during Wednesday’s press briefing. “We are doing that on behalf of the people of our country who live here.”

The press secretary — who is devoutly Catholic and regularly prays with her staff before her press briefings — did not mention the pope.

It’s not the first time the White House — which has displayed its religious, and specifically Christian and Catholic, fervor via policy — has disagreed with the Vatican. Earlier this year, Vice President JD Vance, another staunch Catholic, sparred with the late Pope Francis over the administration’s hardline immigration policies.

A spokesperson for Vance declined to comment on Leo’s remarks.

President Donald Trump in his second term has sought to deliver on the massive border crackdown he promised on the campaign trail, dispatching federal immigration agents to conduct massive and highly publicized raids across the country. The White House posted an “ASMR” video of detainees in chains, and on Valentine’s Day posted the message: “Roses are red, violets are blue, come here illegally, and we’ll deport you.”

During the briefing, Vance pushed back on Democrats’ demand to renew expiring health insurance subsidies in order to fund the government, claiming that immigrants are responsible for longer wait times in emergency rooms.

“Very often someone in the emergency room waiting is an illegal alien, very often it’s a person who can’t speak English,” he said. “Why do those people get health care benefits at hospitals paid for by American citizens?”