The White House defended President Donald Trump’s hardline migration policy on Wednesday after US-born Pope Leo XIV hit out at the “inhuman” treatment of migrants in the United States. “Someone who says ‘I’m against abortion, but I’m in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants who are in the United States,’ I don’t know if that’s pro-life,” Pope Leo told reporters on Tuesday. White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, who is a Catholic, rejected the pope’s criticisms when asked to respond to them on Wednesday. “I would reject that there is inhumane treatment of illegal immigrants in the United States under this administration,” Leavitt told reporters in a briefing. Months before his election as Pope Leo, the former Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost shared articles criticizing Trump and Vice President JD Vance, who is also a Catholic, on social media, particularly on issues of migration.