Prayer answered!
Little girl who asked Pope Francis to save her undocumented immigrant father from deportation reunited with dad after his release from ICE center
- Jersey Vargas, 10, traveled to Vatican City in 16-person delegation of American children whose immigrant parents are facing deportation
- Fourth-grader was only one in her group of speak to Pope Francis face to face, asking him to talk to President Obama about her father
- Jersey gave pontiff embroidered handkerchief and in return got a kiss on the forehead and a blessing
- Girl's father, Mario Vargas, was released from detention center two days later after relatives posted $5,000 bond
A 10-year-old California girl’s personal plea to Pope Francis has been answered when her detained father, who is facing deportation, was released Friday.
Mario Vargas was freed from a detention facility in Louisiana after he posted $5,000 bond. A relative who saw his daughter, Jersey Vargas, on television asking the pontiff for a miracle during a public audience helped with the funding, said his wife, Lola Vargas.
‘When she left, her wish was that her father would be home,’ she told The Associated Press in Spanish. ‘Thank God she is going to get her wish.’
Mr Vargas’ release came after his daughter, of Panorama City, Calif., addressed the pope this week as part of a California delegation that traveled to urge the Vatican to prod President Barack Obama on immigration reform.
The girl and a teenager went as part of the 16-member group to represent the American children of immigrant parents who are afraid their families will be divided by deportation.
The president and the pontiff met for the first time Thursday.
‘I feel very happy and proud because I’m finally going to have my dad back and we’re going to be reunited,’ Jersey told the AP late Friday before boarding a flight from Rome to Los Angeles.
She said her father was also heading to Los Angeles, and that she hoped he would get there before her arrival Saturday.
’I haven’t seen him in two years,’ she said. ‘It’s been very hard since my dad hasn’t been home. My mom has had to be the provider for my family, she’s been the mother and father for two years.’
Mario Vargas was arrested in Tennessee in September on a drunk driving charge and served a six month sentence.
Upon his release he was detained by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and held in a Louisiana detention facility until he could appear before a judge for removal proceedings, said Bryan Cox, agency spokesman in New Orleans.
A judge had approved the bond request several days before the girl met with the pope, but the money was not available until late this week, said Vargas’ attorney, Alex Galvez.
The bond amount was not changed as the result of his daughter asking the pope to intercede, Cox said. Vargas-Lopez is required to stay in communication with ICE and tell agency officials where he is pending his next court appearance, Cox said.
‘Him being released on bond in no way translates into special action on his behalf,’ Cox said. ‘This was standard procedure.’
Galvez agreed that the release was unrelated to the daughter’s visit with the pope. He said her message to the Catholic leader was related to the larger need to improve an immigration system in the United States that separates families.
Lola Vargas said she had been gathering money to pay for her Mexican husband’s bond but didn’t have enough until one of his cousins called, surprised to see the girl on TV, and offered to help.
Her husband had gone to Tennessee to look for work in construction and had been sending money to his family in California, she said.
Juan Jose Gutierrez, an immigrant advocate who coordinated the trip to Italy, said the archdiocese of Los Angeles helped get the group a key spot so they could speak with Pope Francis amid the crowds.
Little Jersey, a chatty and outgoing fourth-grader from Panorama City, arrived in the Vatican Wednesday as part of a delegation from Southern California that traveled to Rome to deliver 1,300 letters to the pope written by children of undocumented immigrants.
The advocates were hoping to have a few minutes to speak to the pontiff, but the slender little girl was the only one out of her group to squeeze her way to the front of the crowd.
When she finally came face to face with Pope Francis, the 10-year-old burst into tears, telling the leader of the world’s 1.1billion Catholics, ‘My Father is suffering.’
Pontiff’s promise: Pope Francis gave Jersey a blessing and promised her to speak to President Obama about U.S. parents facing deportation when he meets him Thursday (pictured)
She also gifted the pope with a handkerchief embroided by her mother with the words ‘nido de amor,’ which means ‘nest of love’ in Spanish.
‘That napkin represented my family – my mom and dad – until they got separated. Their nido was destroyed,’ the girl revealed to OC Register.
In return, the Holy Father gave Jersey a blessing and a kiss on the forehead.
‘I told him to pray for my family and to ask the president to stop deportation because it’s separating my family,’ Vargas told Fox News Latino.
Jersey, who is a U.S. citizen, said the pontiff then whispered in her ear that he was going to discuss the deportation issue with Mr Obama.
