Secretary defends U.S. migration stance ahead of pope visit, distinguishes migrants from criminal deportees

The secretary, a State Department official, pushed back against framing the pope's comments on migrants as inherently political and defended the administration's migration approach, saying the United States remains "compassionate" toward legal migrants while opposing "mass migration" and open borders.

Why it matters: The remarks came ahead of a papal Mass in Rome and because of public scrutiny about how migration policy aligns with religious teachings and human-rights concerns.

The secretary said, "the pope is not a political figure" and called the papacy a spiritual office with social teachings that are not incompatible with U.S. efforts to control unlawful migration. He said, "There is nothing compassionate about open borders that allows people to be trafficked here" and argued that large-scale, uncontrolled migration can harm both migrants and communities.

On deportations and criminal removals, the secretary said some people removed from the United States were "dangerous criminals" — including gang members — and described efforts to find receiving countries when a migrant's home country would not accept them. He said the administration had conversations with multiple countries about alternative locations for such detainees but did not specify which countries. He referenced President Bukele of El Salvador and said that, in his view, the steps El Salvador took related to gang members have contributed to security improvements in that country.

Less critical details: The secretary asserted the U.S. admits about a million people legally each year as a demonstration of the country's long-term immigration pathway, and he cautioned against equating all migration with compassion.