Trump’s Border Czar Says He’ll “Educate” Pope Leo XIV on Catholic Teaching

Homan argues Leo XIV is wrong on deportations — and says his Catholic grade school education in the 1960s qualifies him to explain the faith’s “always pro–law enforcement” stance.

In an interview on Wednesday, Tom Homan — the White House official overseeing Trump’s hardline immigration agenda — scoffed at Pope Leo XIV’s critiques of mass deportations.

“I’d be happy to sit down and explain to him what he’s missing,” Homan said, suggesting the pope doesn’t understand the realities on the border. The self-described “lifelong Catholic” lectured that the Catholic faith “is always in support of law enforcement” and that Leo XIV “should be, too.”

Homan even told the pope to focus on “fixing the Catholic Church, ’cause they’ve got their own issues,” rather than question Trump’s policies. He went on to claim that “if we jumped the wall at the Vatican, the penalties are much harder” than what migrants face crossing into the U.S., implying Vatican hypocrisy.

Homan rattled off grim statistics about migrant women being assaulted and thousands of fentanyl deaths from an “open border,” arguing that illegal immigration is far from a victimless crime.

In his view, President Trump’s crackdown —which Homan boasts slashed illegal crossings by 96% — has “saved thousands of lives”.

Not Homan’s First Clash with the Church

For those following Homan’s rhetoric, this outburst is nothing new.

Last November, after U.S. Catholic bishops issued a statement defending immigrants, Homan fumed to reporters that “The Catholic Church is wrong.”

He insisted “a secure border saves lives” and sneered that Church leaders should “spend time fixing the Catholic Church” instead of opposing mass deportations.

The U.S. bishops, for their part, had explicitly affirmed that “Catholic teaching exhorts nations to recognize the fundamental dignity of all persons, including immigrants,” stressing that “Human dignity and national security are not in conflict. Both are possible if people of goodwill work together.”

Homan’s contempt extended even to the pope’s predecessor: in February, when Pope Francis slammed Trump’s deportation plan as a “disgrace” that violates human dignity, Homan snapped that “the pope ought to stick to the Catholic Church and fix that. That’s a mess.”

In each case, Homan has brandished his Catholic background — he attended Catholic school decades ago — as if it qualifies him to override the very teachings of the Church on human life and mercy.

Catholic Teaching vs. Homan’s Rhetoric

Homan’s tirades spotlight an ironic hypocrisy. He portrays himself as the law-and-order Catholic, yet he casually dismisses the moral authority of the pope and bishops.

According to the Second Vatican Council, Catholics are called to respect and heed the pope and bishops “in matters of faith and morals” with religious assent — not tell them to “fix the Church” when their teaching challenges political agendas.

And the teaching in question is clear: the Church insists on both justice and compassion. Yes, nations have a right to secure their borders, but the Church condemns treating migrants as disposable criminals.

Pope Leo XIV has consistently echoed Christ’s mandate to welcome the stranger and protect the vulnerable — a message that shouldn’t be controversial for a lifelong Catholic.

Meanwhile, Homan’s own moral authority is shaky: he was recently caught in an undercover FBI sting accepting a $50,000 cash bribe in exchange for promised government contracts, a scandal the Justice Department quietly quashed.

It hasn’t escaped notice that the man telling the pope how to do his job is the same man who allegedly sold access for a bag of cash.

Through it all, Pope Leo XIV appears unfazed by Homan’s bluster.

The pope isn’t about to take lessons in Catholicism from a government enforcer notorious for zero-tolerance tactics. In fact, Leo XIV has made immigrant outreach a hallmark of his pontificate, reminding the world that defending migrants is not politics but basic Christianity.

The contrast is stark: on one side, a Vatican calling for mercy and justice; on the other, a political appointee ridiculing the Vicar of Christ while championing an agenda of fear.

Homan can brag about his 1960s Catholic school days all he wants — Pope Leo will continue to preach what the Gospel demands: mercy, human dignity, and solidarity with migrants.

At Letters from Leo, we stand with the Catholics — and the people of goodwill far beyond our pews — who believe the Gospel does not belong to border czars or cable news chyrons.

It belongs to the people of God — the Church.

And the Church has never taught that cruelty is strength.

In a moment when political power mocks mercy and dares to lecture the Successor of St. Peter on Catholic doctrine, we refuse to flinch. We refuse to let fear masquerade as faith. We refuse to let the language of law enforcement eclipse the law of love.

We are not neutral observers in this clash.

We are witnesses.

This is the fastest-growing Catholic community in the United States because people are hungry for moral clarity — not partisan spin dressed up as theology.

They are looking for courage.
They are looking for coherence.
They are looking for a Church that remembers the stranger, the migrant, the vulnerable — and says their dignity is not negotiable.

If you’re ready to build a country — and a Church — that refuses to confuse enforcement with righteousness or power with truth, then you’re already one of us.

Let’s walk together.

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