Pope Leo encouraged U.S. Bishops visiting the Vatican that they should speak out strongly against how immigrants are being treated under President Donald Trump's crackdown, Reuters reported.

Bishop Mark Joseph Seitz of El Paso, Texas, met with Leo on Oct. 8, according to the Vatican press office. Seitz posted on social media that he traveled with a group to share "stories and fears of our immigrant sisters and brothers from across our country."

Seitz told Reuters the Pope said he wished the U.S. Bishops' Conference would speak strongly on the matter. A representative from the El Paso Diocese confirmed Seitz's comments in an email to USA TODAY.

Leo has been increasingly critical of the Trump administration's immigration tactics in recent weeks.

"Someone who says I am against abortion but I am in agreement with the inhuman treatment of immigrants in the United States, I don't know if that's pro-life," he told journalists on Sept. 30, according to Reuters.

The White House pushed back on these comments, with press secretary Karoline Leavitt saying she “would reject there was inhumane treatment of illegal immigrants in the United States under this administration."

She also raised immigration issues that occurred under the Biden administration.

“This administration is trying to enforce our nation’s laws in the most humane way possible, and we are upholding the law,” Leavitt said during the Oct. 1 press briefing.

Trump's immigration crackdown sweeps up children in Chicago

Trump has long vowed to carry out mass deportations and has deployed a number of controversial tactics in an attempt to deport 1 million people annually.

Trump has vowed to send federal agents to cities run by Democrats as part of his crackdown on immigration. In the early hours of Sept. 30, a Chicago apartment building was raided by 300 officers, and several American citizens, including some children, were detained for hours.

Earlier in the summer, the Trump administration ramped up ICE raids in California that resulted in arrests of people without criminal records outside of their immigration violations.

The pope was presented with letters from U.S. immigrants when Seitz visited Wednesday, many speaking of the fear they are experiencing.

"I am feeling very sad because my family could be separated from the rest of my family," one letter written by a Guatemalan woman in California and shared with USA TODAY read. "They can't go out. They are afraid to shop, to go to church and so they stay home. I am also scared and so are they."

What religion is Donald Trump?

Trump once identified as a Presbyterian, but in 2020 he told Religion News Service he began considering himself a non-denominational Christian.

First lady Melania Trump, however, made news in 2017 when she met the late Pope Francis and revealed she was Catholic when asking the pontiff to bless her rosary beads.

Leavitt is a devout Catholic and regularly prays with staff ahead of the press briefings, according to Politico.

Contributing: Michael Loria, Eduardo Cuevas, Maureen Groppe, USA TODAY; Reuters

Kinsey Crowley is the Trump Connect reporter for the USA TODAY Network. Reach her at kcrowley@gannett.com. Follow her on X and TikTok @kinseycrowley or Bluesky at @kinseycrowley.bsky.social.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas Bishop visits Vatican with immigration concerns. What has Pope Leo said about Trump?

Reporting by Kinsey Crowley, USA TODAY / USA TODAY

USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect