“First U.S. Bishop Appointed by Pope Leo XIV A Refugee Himself Leads Priests to Defend Migrants in Court”

In a powerful act of faith and resistance, Bishop Emmanuel Reyes, the first U.S. bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV and a former refugee himself, is calling on hundreds of Catholic priests across the country to join him in a mission unlike any other:

Standing beside migrants and asylum seekers in U.S. immigration courts on June 20.

The date, which marks World Refugee Day, will now become a day of spiritual presence and public witness. According to Bishop Reyes, “The gospel commands us to walk with the oppressed, not watch from the sidelines.”

This historic move is not just symbolic it’s personal.

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Born in war-torn El Salvador, Bishop Reyes crossed the U.S. border as a frightened 9-year-old fleeing violence. He grew up in church basements, shelters, and migrant centers. Decades later, he’s not only risen through the ranks of the Catholic Church but is now using his platform to shake the very conscience of America.

“I am an immigrant,” he said. “I was once the child they tried to cage. I will not be silent now that I wear a cross on my chest.”

Reyes is mobilizing priests, nuns, and churchgoers to attend immigration hearings in New York, Texas, Arizona, and California, serving as moral witnesses watching, documenting, and praying.

Churches across the U.S. are already opening their doors again to migrants.

But this? This is different.

This is the Church walking into the courtroom, hand in hand with the persecuted.

Supporters of the movement are using hashtags like #StandWithMigrants and #HolyResistance on social media. Several civil rights organizations and interfaith groups have pledged to join.

Meanwhile, critics have accused the bishop of politicizing the pulpit.

His response?

“Silence in the face of injustice is not neutrality. It’s betrayal.”

June 20 could go down as more than a church-led protest. It might just be the moment America was forced to look itself in the mirror and ask what kind of country it’s becoming.

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