Homan Tells Pope Francis That Securing Border Saves Thousands of Lives Annually

Border chief Tom Homan delivered a fact-based rebuke to Pope Leo XIV this week, explaining in no uncertain terms that the pontiff fundamentally misunderstands how President Donald Trump’s border policies actually save lives rather than endanger them.

The facts are stark and undeniable. Thirty-one percent of women are raped during the journey to cross the border illegally. Four thousand migrants died attempting that journey during the Biden administration alone. A quarter million Americans died from fentanyl poisoning because Biden opened the borders and overwhelmed Border Patrol capacity. These are not abstract statistics. These are human lives lost due to failed policy.

“Illegal migration is not a victimless crime,” Homan told reporters when asked about the Pope’s recent comments criticizing border enforcement. The logic here is straightforward: when Border Patrol becomes overwhelmed, every negative consequence of illegal immigration increases proportionally. Sex trafficking increases. Fentanyl smuggling increases. Criminal cartels gain operational freedom.

President Trump has reduced illegal immigration by 96 percent. Simple mathematics demonstrates that this dramatic reduction translates directly into thousands of lives saved annually on both sides of the border.

The Pope and his deputies at the Vatican continue pushing an idealistic internationalist vision that sounds compassionate in theory but proves catastrophic in practice. Cardinal Fabio Baggio, undersecretary of the Vatican’s migration agency, recently argued that people in “irregular situations” should be welcomed and guided toward regularization because they are “children of God” knocking at the door of charity.

This perspective ignores economic and security realities. The migration the Vatican advocates for extracts youth from developing nations to feed wealthy investors in destination countries. It pushes American workers out of the workforce. It imports religious and cultural conflicts, including anti-Christian discrimination from Hindu caste systems and attacks on Christian churches by Islamic extremists who exploit open border policies.

Homan, himself a lifelong practicing Catholic, pointed out the contradiction in the Church’s position. “The Catholic faith is always in support of law enforcement, always has been,” he stated. “The Pope should be too.”

Multiple polls demonstrate that rank-and-file Catholics oppose mass migration even while supporting legitimate aid to impoverished populations. The disconnect between Vatican leadership and Catholic laity on this issue could not be clearer.

The Pope appears to be zigzagging between Christian idealism and the dangerous political reality of supporting mass migration of economic migrants, many bringing resentment and aggression, into Europe, Canada, and the United States.

Homan offered to sit down with the Pope and explain these realities directly. One suspects such a meeting would prove illuminating for Church leadership that has shown little evidence of recognizing the mass deaths caused by the very migration policies they champion.

The death toll under Biden’s open border policies extends beyond migrants themselves to include Americans killed by illegal immigrants and those who died from smuggled fentanyl. These numbers likely exceed even Homan’s already sobering estimates.

Securing the border is not cruelty. It is not lacking in compassion. It is the only policy position grounded in facts, logic, and genuine concern for human life on both sides of the border. The Pope would do well to recognize this reality before advocating for policies that demonstrably cost lives rather than save them.