A US bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV has instructed a group of priests and deacons in his district to accompany migrants to court, according to a Newsweek report.
Appointed as Bishop of San Diego, California, Rev. Michael Pham is asking the group to go to court on Friday, June 20th, which is International Refugee Day.
"We know that migrants and refugees find themselves in the difficult predicament of being called to appear, which is what the government asks of them, and then being given orders for expedited removal from our country,” Pham said in his letter.
"The presence of faith leaders makes a difference in how the migrants are treated," he added, “Being present will be a good way for us to give witness and stand with immigrants.”
The letter, which was signed by Pham and other auxiliary bishops, comes after Trump deployed National Guard officers and Marines to Los Angeles to quell immigration protests in the City.
San Diego is roughly 250 miles south of Los Angeles and just 20 miles from the U.S.-Mexico border. Los Angeles, notably, is facing an increase of immigration protests, which have caused President Donald Trump to deploy 4,700 US troops to the city.
Former member of the Obama-Biden White House who claims “Pope Leo tweeted me once,” Christopher Hale posted a copy of Pham’s letter on X, “NEW: The first U.S. bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV—a refugee himself—is mobilizing priests to accompany migrants at immigration court on June 20. This is the kind of leadership Leo’s picking.”
The Newsweek reports, Pham is an immigrant himself. His family was granted asylum in the United States in 1981 as they fled from the Viet Cong.
They also quoted Pope Leo’s brother John Prevost, who told the media in May that his sibling is ‘not happy with what's going on with immigration.’”
"[Pope Leo XIV] has great, great desire to help the downtrodden and the disenfranchised, the people who are ignored," Prevost said.