Pope Leo XIV was “visibly moved” to receive messages on October 8 from immigrants who fear deportation in the United States, according to a member of a US delegation.
The Bishop of El Paso, Texas, Bishop Mark Seitz, Auxiliary Bishop Anthony Celino and Dylan Corbett of the Hope Border Institute, presented the Pope with a collection of handwritten letters from migrant families expressing fear and faith. They also showed him a video with immigrant voices who claim that mass deportations in the United States are breaking family ties and stripping children of security.
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“We live in a constant state of anxiety, never knowing if tomorrow will bring separation,” says an immigrant in the video.
Corbett published in X that León told the delegation, which included immigrants: “The Church cannot remain silent in the face of injustice. You are with me, and I am with you.”
The author of one of the letters expressed fear of leaving the house, even to go to the doctor, and asked for prayers for President Donald Trump so that his heart would be filled with love, compassion and empathy. The Trump administration is undertaking a massive expansion of law enforcement, detention and border control efforts.
“You could see tears in his eyes.”
Corbett, founding executive director of the Hope Border Institute, described the 25-minute meeting with the Pope to CNA — EWTN News’ English-language agency.
“Bishop Seitz spoke about the commitment of the Church in the United States to walk alongside immigrants and refugees in our country,” Corbett recalled, noting that Seitz’s words had not been prepared. “And the Holy Father quickly said that he wanted the Church in the United States to be more united and more forceful on this issue, and that what is happening now is an injustice.”
“We were then able to share, from our perspective, some of what we are seeing in the United States right now in terms of the mass deportation campaign,” he continued, adding: “The Holy Father was visibly moved by it.”
The group presented Leo XIV with “more than 100 letters from immigrants across the country who are at risk of deportation or who are part of mixed families.” The delegation also presented the Holy Father with a video that included “voices taken from those letters that tell the story of the anxieties and fears, and also the hopes, of the immigrant community at this time.”
At that moment, Corbett said, the Pope “became emotional and you could see tears in his eyes.”
“He was very supportive and encouraging,” Corbett said, noting that several representatives of the immigrant community were also present at the meeting and offered their testimonies.
Fernie Ceniceros, spokesperson for the Diocese of El Paso, told CNA: “The Diocese of El Paso is delighted to learn that the Holy Father was able to meet with Bishop Mark Seitz and our auxiliary bishop Anthony Celino and a small delegation of local immigration advocates that included clergy from the diocese.”
“We are blessed to know that the Holy Father expressed his support for migrants along the US-Mexico border, along with migrants around the world,” he added.
Ceniceros shared several images of the letters delivered to León, including one in English and another in Spanish.
One of the letters, sent by a priest from El Paso on mission from the Diocese of Srikakulam, in Andhra Pradesh (India), described “feeling a kind of insecurity… due to the immigration situation” and noted that many “are afraid to move comfortably even with legal documentation.”
The letter also asked the Holy Father for papal support to be “a voice for the voiceless” while “defending the right of nations to regulate their borders and the right of people to seek a better life.”
Another letter, from an anonymous immigrant without legal status in California, told León: “These days we are living with a lot of fear, confusion and sadness.” The letter appealed to the Holy Father to “continue to ask our God and continue to listen to the voice of the immigrant community in need, raising their voices alongside our brothers and sisters from separated families.”
“Thank you for listening to us,” he concluded.
Migrant messages
One letter said:
“Dear Pope Leo, there are two members of my family without documents. I am afraid to go out to work and that I may be separated from my family. I think it should be required that immigration agents cannot approach parishes, and that the raids should stop, because they only create pain and fear. I think the Pope should be openly against the raids and the unfair treatment that is affecting the community. Speak clearly and concisely about the situation we are in and condemn the way the so-called Christians in power are acting.”
Another letter said:
“We are a mixed family. I am very sad, in a lot of pain and fear. I have not gone out for two weeks. and when I go out I am afraid, even to go to the doctor. I think that the Church could help us to have immigration lawyers to also support all those who are detained. Give protection to the families that remain, Pope Leo, you know the whole situation that everyone is experiencing, that there is a lot of pain and that we do not have peace. We ask for your prayers and that you speak to those who need to speak. Also I ask for prayers for Donald Trump so that his heart is filled with Love, Compassion and Empathy.”
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Low Elhabbal
Madalaine Elhabbal is a CNA journalist based in EWTN’s Washington DC bureau. She has published articles on CatholicVote and has also worked as a foreign language assistant in France. She is a graduate of Benedictine College.