Pope Francis reached Washington D.C. on Wednesday, Sep. 23, 2015. During his procession around Ellipse, the Pope was introduced to a five year old Mexican-American girl. Sofia Cruz, somehow successfully getting through the barricades, touched the Pope's heart as she shyly but surely voiced her troubles through a letter she had written for the Pope himself:
"I am American citizen with Mexican roots. Pope Francis, I want to tell you that my heart is sad and I would like to ask you to speak with the president and the Congress in legalizing my parents because every day I am scared that one day they will take them away from me. I believe I have the right to live with my parents. I have the right to be happy. My dad works very hard in a factory galvanizing pieces of metal. All immigrants just like my dad feed this country. They deserve to live with dignity. They deserve to live with respect. They deserve an immigration reform because it benefits my country and because they have been working hard harvesting oranges, watermelons, carrots, onions, spinach and other vegetables."
The next day, Thursday, Sep. 24, 2015, Pope Francis delivered a moving speech to Congress. While he touched on many subjects such as poverty, climate change, the most emotive part was about immigration (and we can infer it was inspired by 5 year old, Sofia Cruz). The Pope encouraged the lawmakers to embrace immigrants and refugees instead of the harsh reality they're facing at the moment. He urged the men and women on Capitol Hill to understand, "We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners. I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also descended from immigrants. Let us seek for others the same possibilities which we seek for ourselves. Let us help others to grow, as we would like to be helped ourselves. In a word, if we want security, let us give security; if we want life, let us give life; if we want opportunities, let us provide opportunities."
The words of Pope Francis hopefully has reached Congress in a positive and beneficial way. We can only hope they will understand the sacrifices and consequences that are at stake for these immigrants that have worked hard for their right to be here. We can only hope they will embrace immigrants and refugees like they do their own family and friends. We can only hope they will change something about the system to make it more accepting to those who need it. However while we can only hope, we must also thank Pope Francis for enlightening these men and women of Congress to do what is right and, "to seek effective solutions rather than getting bogged down in discussions."
