'Jesus would identify with illegal immigrants and asylum seekers', Pope Leo claims

The Chicago-born pontiff, who was addressing onlookers from his loggia overlooking Vatican City during the traditional Urbi et Orbi blessing, issued what amounted to a thinly veiled rebuke of Donald Trump's hardline approach to immigration.

The Pope said: "In becoming man, Jesus took upon himself our fragility, identifying with each one of us: with those who have nothing left and have lost everything, like the inhabitants of Gaza; with those who are prey to hunger and poverty, like the Yemeni people; with those who are fleeing their homeland to seek a future elsewhere, like the many refugees and migrants who cross the Mediterranean or traverse the American continent."

As the first American to occupy the papal throne, Leo XIV has made migration and poverty central themes throughout his eight-month tenure, continuing the advocacy of his predecessor Pope Francis.

Pope Leo's relationship with the Trump administration has been notably strained.

The pontiff previously publicly challenged Washington's treatment of migrants in November, demanding what he termed a "deep reflection" on the matter.

The sermon was delivered in both English and Spanish, the latter being the language of Peru, where Leo XIV spent years working first as a missionary before rising to become archbishop.

Mr Trump has stripped 1.6 million immigrants of their legal right to remain in America over the past eleven months.

The United States Conference of Catholic Bishops responded with a rare "Special Message" expressing their "concern for the evolving situation impacting immigrants in the United States".

Mr Trump has also claimed to have deported nearly 200,000 illegal migrants since returning to the Oval Office in January.

Independent estimates using Immigration & Customs Enforcement data suggest over 128,000 deportations occurred in just the first half of 2025, averaging roughly 800 per day.

During his first stint in the White House, Mr Trump oversaw 1.5 million deportations.

Despite representing fewer removals than those carried out under Barack Obama, border crossings have declined drastically since the Republican returned to power.

Illegal crossings from Mexico to the US the lowest level in 50 years this year, with fewer than 9,000 crossings recorded each month during Mr Trump's first eight months back in the White House.

Meanwhile, US Customs & Border Patrol has said about 11 million border encounters were recorded over the course of Biden's four years in office.

However, the issue of migration was also addressed during the incoming Archbishop of Canterbury's Christmas speech.

Dame Sarah Mullally warned debates on the issue "continue to divide us, when our common humanity should unite us".

The 63-year-old, who is currently serving as Bishop of London, delivered her address at St Paul's Cathedral, speaking of joy emerging precisely where despair anticipates victory.

“Joy is born exactly where despair expects to triumph," she told the congregation.

“As joy breaks through in our lives it gives us the opportunity to become people who make room."

“Room in our homes. Room in our churches. Room in our public conversations and in the attitudes we hold.

“The joy asks us to allow our lives to be interrupted by the needs of others, just as the people of Bethlehem were interrupted.”

She continued: “This insight matters because our own society carries uncertainties that can wear us down.

“Many feel the weight of economic pressure. Some feel pushed to the margins.

“Our national conversations about immigration continue to divide us, when our common humanity should unite us.”