Pope Leo visits Lampedusa amid US-EU anti-migrant policy surge

Pope Leo, the first US-born pope, visited Italy's Lampedusa island on Saturday, a key transit point for migrants crossing from Africa. The visit coincides with the US 250th anniversary of independence and occurs two weeks after the EU approved stricter migrant rules allowing broader detention and deportation centers outside the bloc. The pope, who has clashed with President Donald Trump over migrant treatment, prayed at unmarked graves of shipwreck victims, stood alone on the rocky shoreline, and met a migrant family, taking children by the hand at the 'Door of Europe' monument. Like his predecessor Francis, Leo has made migrant defense a pillar of his papacy, praising aid efforts and condemning mass deportations.