US Vice President J.D. Vance said he disagrees with the Vatican's views on immigration, calling them "disturbing". His remarks came after repeated comments by Pope Leo XIV expressing disapproval of President Donald Trump's tough measures on immigration, Reuters reported, BTA reported.
Leo, the first US pope, called for "deep reflection" in the United States about how migrants are treated under the Trump administration, describing the Trump administration as "extremely disrespectful" to immigrants and criticizing what he called "inhumane" attitude towards them.
“I think some of the things that have come out of the Vatican on immigration in particular are troubling and I ultimately disagree with them,“ Vance, who is Catholic, said in an interview with “Fox News“.
“What I say to the Catholic leaders that I talk to who disagree with our immigration policy is that I am not hostile to the issue. I invite them to have this conversation, but I also encourage them to remember that mass migration has victims,“ he said.
Trump has been waging a tough campaign against immigration and for deportations, which human rights groups say violates the rights to free speech and due process and creates an unsafe environment, especially for ethnic minorities who have expressed concerns about racial profiling, Reuters noted.
Trump, who has criticized Low, says his goal is to improve homeland security and curb illegal immigration.