Mike Johnson says 'borders are biblical,' responds to Pope Leo's criticism of Trump policies

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., has responded to Pope Leo XIV’s concerns about President Donald Trump’s immigration policies, proclaiming that “borders are biblical.” 

In speaking with reporters Tuesday after a vote on the House floor, Johnson was asked to address Pope Leo XIV’s citation of “Matthew 25:35 to critique Donald Trump’s mass deportation agenda." 

“Borders and walls are biblical," Johnson, a Southern Baptist, responded. “From the Old Testament to the New, God has allowed us to set up our civil societies and have separate nations.”

“Immigration is not something that’s frowned upon in Scripture,” he added. “We’re to welcome the sojourner and love our neighbor as ourself.”

The speaker continued: “What’s also important in the Bible is that assimilation is expected and anticipated and proper."

“When someone comes into your country, comes into your nation, they do not have the right to change its laws or to change its society," Johnson said. "They are expected to assimilate.”

“We haven’t had a lot of that going on,” he insisted.

When speaking to reporters in November, Pope Leo XIV noted how “Matthew’s Gospel Chapter 25” features Jesus discussing how “at the end of the world, we’re going to be asked … ‘how did you receive the foreigner? Did you receive him and welcome him or not?’” The pontiff shared his belief that “There’s a deep reflection that needs to be made in terms of what’s happening” in the United States.

“Many people who have lived for years and years and years, never causing problems, have been deeply affected by what’s going on right now,” he lamented. The relevant portion of Matthew 25:35 mentioned by Leo states, “For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in.” 

Johnson contends that biblical commands to “take care of the sojourner and the neighbor” and “treat them as yourself” are “an admonition to individuals, not to the civil authorities.” 

Johnson detailed how “the civil authorities are given authority under scripture to maintain order” and characterized the Biden-Harris administration’s immigration policy as at odds with biblical teaching.

“It’s a calling to maintain order in society and we have not had that. When Biden and Harris opened the borders wide for four years, we had as many as 20 million illegals come [into] the country, and we all know many dangerous people: hardened criminals, child molesters, rapists, murderers, all the rest, terrorists who came into the country.”

“We did not take care of our borders,” he recalled. “Sovereign borders are biblical and good and right and they’re just not because we hate the people on the outside, it’s because we love the people on the inside. We should love our neighbor as ourself as individuals but as a civil authority … the government has to maintain the law, and that is biblical, and it’s right, and it’s just.”

Johnson vowed to post additional analysis on his X account. He followed through on this promise, publishing an X post later Tuesday asserting that “Despite the insistence of the progressive Left, people of all religious faiths should support a strong national border — and Christians CERTAINLY should.” 

“Critics are fond of citing particular Bible verses out of context to claim that Christians and Jews are being ‘unfaithful’ if we oppose their radical open borders agenda. It has become increasingly important for us to set this record straight,” he wrote. “The Bible teaches that God ordained and created four distinct spheres of authority — (1) the individual, (2) the family, (3) the church, and (4) civil government — and each of these spheres is given different responsibilities.” 

Johnson said that the civil government was established to "faithfully uphold and enforce the law so that order can be maintained in this fallen world, crime can be kept at bay, and people can live peacefully,” citing Romans 13 and 1 Timothy 2:1-2.

“The Bible is clear that Christians should practice personal charity — but also insist upon the enforcement of laws (like our federal immigration statutes) so that ‘every person is subject to the governing authorities’ and ‘those who resist incur judgment,'" he wrote.

“The Bible speaks favorably and consistently about distinct nations of people (see, e.g., Gen. 18:18, Num. 32:17, Psalm 67:2, Matt. 28:19, Rev. 5:9, 7:9, NIV) and about borders and walls that are built to guard and secure people, property, and instructions (see e.g., Deut 19:14, 27:17, 32:8, Acts 17:26, NIV). When Nehemiah heroically led the Jewish remnant to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem after their enemies had destroyed those walls, he was doing the noble work of God.” 

Johnson said that followers of Christ are "called to love unconditionally, serve selflessly, and defend the defenseless."

"We are also called to stand for, and work to ensure, just government," Johnson said. "Justice and mercy are not mutually exclusive pursuits. To the contrary, God specifically requires His people to practice both (Micah 6:8). Despite the unfounded claims of the Left, supporting a strong national border is a very Christian thing to do. The Bible tells us so.”