Five-year-old Sofi Cruz has tugged at our hearts, and we know she’ll tug at yours, too.
She made headlines earlier today when she eagerly broke through a security barricade as Pope Francis’s motorcade passed through downtown Washington, D.C.
VIDEO: Pope embraces daughter of immigrants. She gave him a letter asking him to fight for her parents. pic.twitter.com/2U1fKgt2BT #SofiCruz
— America’s Voice (@americasvoice) September 23, 2015
But rather than turn her away, Pope Francis motioned to his security detail, “Let her come to me.”
The two embraced. Sofi, the US-citizen daughter of Mexican immigrants, handed the Pontiff a letter asking him to fight for the nation’s undocumented immigrants — including her parents.
According to one report, she also handed him a t-shirt that said, “Papa Rescate DAPA” — “Pope Rescue DAPA”.
In a series of English and Spanish-language videos, the brave young girl reads aloud the contents of the letter she handed to the Pope, saying:
“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, need this country. They deserve to live with dignity. They deserve to live with respect. They deserve an immigration reform because it benefits my country.”
“Don’t forget about the children, or anyone that suffers because they don’t have their parents.”