Pope Francis spent years lecturing America about its border while sitting behind 40-foot walls in Vatican City.
Then Pope Leo XIV – the first American pope – took up the same cause, calling Trump's deportations "extremely disrespectful" and pushing U.S. Catholic bishops to openly oppose the administration's enforcement operations.
Tom Homan just pointed out exactly what the pope is missing – and it involves the Vatican's own locked gates.
Border Czar Homan Fires Back With the Facts Pope Leo Refuses to Acknowledge
The Border Czar didn't mince words when reporters asked him about Pope Leo's latest attacks on Trump's immigration agenda.
"The Catholic faith is always in support of law enforcement, always has been, and he should be, too," Homan said.
He didn't stop there.
"You ought to be fixing the Catholic Church, 'cause they've got their own issues," Homan told Breitbart News – the same line he's delivered every time a Church leader has used their pulpit to undercut border enforcement.
Then came the argument that cuts right through the Vatican's moral posturing.
"If we jumped the wall at the Vatican, the penalties for doing that are much harder than the ones here in the United States, entering the country illegally," Homan said.
Vatican City is one of the most fortified sovereign states on earth – walls, guards, strict entry controls, and criminal penalties for unauthorized entry that dwarf what America imposes on illegal crossers.
The pope lives behind exactly the kind of border he's demanding Trump dismantle.
The Mass Deportation Numbers Pope Leo Won't Say Out Loud
Homan – a lifelong, practicing Catholic – didn't just score rhetorical points.
He laid out what illegal immigration actually costs the people the pope claims to be protecting.
Thirty-one percent of women are sexually assaulted making the journey across the border.
More than 4,000 migrants died making that journey under Joe Biden's open-border policies.
A quarter million Americans died of fentanyl flowing through that same unsecured border.
"When you overwhelm the border patrol, all the bad things happen," Homan said. "Sex trafficking increases, fentanyl increases. Securing the border saves lives."
Trump reversed it – and the results are historic.
Border apprehensions are down 93 percent from peak Biden-era levels, illegal crossings have fallen to their lowest level since the 1970s, and nearly 3 million illegal aliens have left the country – over 675,000 deported, an estimated 2.2 million self-deported, according to DHS.
Trump declared at the State of the Union two days ago that America now has "the strongest and most secure border in American history by far."
What Homan's Offer to the Pope Actually Means
Homan said he would "be happy to sit down and explain" the full picture to Pope Leo.
Not a threat. An offer.
He wants the pope to understand that Trump's enforcement isn't cruelty – it's the policy that stopped the dying.
Every mile of unsecured border under Biden was a green light for cartels to run women into sex trafficking pipelines, flood American neighborhoods with fentanyl, and collect a body count of migrants who never made it.
Securing that border didn't just stop illegal crossings – it stopped the machine that profits from human suffering.
The same Catholic Church now demanding Trump reverse course was silent when 4,000 migrants died crossing it under Biden.
Leo won't visit the United States in 2026 – the Vatican confirmed earlier this month he's skipping his home country to tour Latin America instead.
Homan's offer still stands. The pope's silence on that answer tells you everything.
https://twitter.com/BreitbartNews/status/2026691281359884496?s=20
Sources:
- Neil Munro, "Tom Homan Rebukes Pope Leo: 'Doesn't Understand… Illegal Migration,'" Breitbart News, February 25, 2026.
- Bob Unruh, "Watch: Catholic Tom Homan Gets Tough on Pope, Says American Pontiff Should Focus on Church's 'Own Issues,'" WND, February 26, 2026.
- "Tom Homan Compares Vatican Walls to US Border and Dismisses Pope's Criticism," Washington Examiner, February 26, 2026.
- "DHS Sets the Stage for Another Historic, Record-Breaking Year Under President Trump," Department of Homeland Security, January 20, 2026.
- "President Trump Is Securing Our Homeland," The White House, February 24, 2026.
- "Border Czar Tom Homan Slams Catholic Church, Says Secure Border Saves Lives," Fox News, November 16, 2025.
