(NewsNation) — Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker met with Chicago’s Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican on Wednesday, where the two reportedly discussed immigration enforcement.
“It was an honor for MK and me to meet with @Pontifex – a son of Illinois – to express the pride and reverence of the people of this great state,” Pritzker wrote on social media. “Pope Leo XIV’s message of hope, compassion, unity, and peace resonates with Illinoisans of all faiths and traditions.”
Leo, born Robert Prevost, was born and raised in the Chicago suburb of Dolton. Pritzker told local outlet NBC 5 Chicago the two discussed the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement, in which Illinois has become a flashpoint.
The pope has shown his support for migrants detained in the United States and told NPR he is troubled by the violent and at times “extremely disrespectful” ways migrants have been treated.
As operations wound down in Chicago, a federal judge recently ordered the release of more than 600 detainees whose attorneys said they were taken into custody without warrants or probable cause.
