WASHINGTON (OSV News) — Vice President JD Vance said during a June 30 interview that he sees some of the Vatican’s views on immigration as “troubling.”
Pope Leo XIV has stated that while “every country has a right to determine who and how and when people enter,” in enforcing immigration policy “we have to look for ways of treating people humanely, treating people with the dignity that they have.”
President Donald Trump earlier this year lashed out at Pope Leo in a series of social media and verbal remarks after the pontiff expressed opposition to the Iran war.
Vance, who is widely expected to seek the Republican Party’s nomination for president in 2028, said on Fox News’ “The Ingraham Angle” show, “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.”
Conversations on immigration
Speaking to host Laura Ingraham, Vance continued, “But I actually like this interplay, Laura, between the pope, between Christian clergy, and between the administration. We don’t always have to agree on these issues, but I think the fact that we’re actually having the right conversations, that we’re pushing back when we disagree about, you know, how they’re, you know, applying a pragmatic principle of immigration policy, that’s a natural and reasonable thing to do.”
“But I do think that we learn something in the interplay, and what I would hope that the Catholic leadership has learned from some of the things that me and (Secretary of State Marco Rubio) and the president have said about immigration is it’s not just about the dignity of the immigrant, it’s also about the dignity of the native-born factory worker who has their wages destroyed,” Vance said. “It’s about the dignity of the child who can be sex trafficked by a cartel member when you have open borders, and so what I tell the Catholic leadership I talk to who disagree with our immigration policies.”
Vance said he is not “hostile about it” in those discussions.
“I invite them to have the conversation, but I also encourage them to remember that mass migration has victims, and you can’t just view things from the perspective of the illegal immigrant. You’ve also got to view things from the perspective of the native-born people who have their lives upended by mass migration,” Vance said. “I think that argument will ultimately win the day, but I’m not afraid of the conversation. I think it’s a good thing, and it’s a good role for the Church to play.”
Bishops’ commentary
In Vance’s book “Communion: Finding My Way Back to Faith,” published in June, the vice president addressed the U.S. bishops’ November 2025 “special pastoral message on immigration,” in which they voiced “our concern here for immigrants.”
Vance acknowledged the statement was “widely viewed as a critique of our administration’s immigration policies,” but argued that the bishops’ message was “admirably measured. Or almost too measured.” He did not note in the book that the U.S. bishops explicitly condemned “indiscriminate mass deportation” in that message.
Although Vance said in the book he pressed Church leaders from the Vatican for their specific criticisms on immigration policy and did not receive them, individual and groups of U.S. bishops have publicly expressed concern about and directly addressed multiple immigration-related policies, such as ensuring families of mixed immigration status are not separated, that sensitive locations — such as houses of worship, schools and hospitals — are protected from enforcement actions, and that those in detention have access to the sacraments and pastoral care, among others.
Pope Leo spoke affirmatively of the USCCB’s special message after its approval in November.
Catholic social teaching on immigration balances three interrelated principles — the right of persons to migrate in order to sustain their lives and those of their families; the right of a country to regulate its borders and control immigration; and a nation’s duty to regulate its borders with justice and mercy.
The interview took place the same day the U.S. Supreme Court struck down President Donald Trump’s executive order limiting birthright citizenship, finding the order violated the 14th Amendment. Vance called that ruling “a major, major mistake.”
The case concerned an executive order signed by Trump within hours of returning to the Oval Office on Jan. 20, 2025, that sought to change the longstanding legal interpretation of the 14th Amendment, which states, “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
But Vance argued that the administration would pursue other means of closing a “loophole.”
“Imagine if one of the five justices who made a bad call today, if they left the Supreme Court,” Vance argued. “We want to make sure we get somebody good on there in the future.”
However, the ruling against the executive order was 6-3. Justice Brett Kavanaugh joined the majority, but in his own opinion, he wrote that he disagreed that the executive order was unconstitutional; rather, it violated a related federal statute and was therefore unlawful.
On July 4, Pope Leo is scheduled to visit the Italian island of Lampedusa, sometimes called the “Door of Europe,” a key entry point on a sea route for migrants to Europe.
Kate Scanlon is a national reporter for OSV News covering Washington. Follow her on X @kgscanlon.
