Panorama City girl, 10, delivers immigration message to Pope Francis

Pope Francis met with two Americans on Thursday — one the leader of the free world, the other a 10-year-old girl from Panorama City.

Before Francis received President Obama at the Vatican, young Jersey Vargas delivered letters from children of undocumented immigrants, asking that the two leaders discuss immigration reform. Jersey’s own father, who arrived in the U.S. at age 16, was caught driving without a valid license and is now facing deportation, KTLA-TV reported.

Prayer answered: Girl, 10, goes to Vatican and meets Pope Francis

(CNN) — The 10-year-old American girl went to the Vatican on a prayer of maybe, just maybe, meeting the Pope this week to deliver an important message.

Her prayer was answered, against all odds.

Hija de inmigrante pide al Papa Francisco que interceda por familias de indocumentados ante Obama

ROMA, 27 Mar. 14 / 05:51 pm (ACI).- La pequeña Jersey Vargas, de 10 años de edad, viajó desde Estados Unidos hasta el Vaticano para reunirse con el Papa Francisco y pedirle que interceda ante el presidente Barack Obama para que no deporten a su padre indocumentado, a quien no ve desde hace más de dos años.

Panorama City Girl Makes Heartfelt Plea to Pope Francis – Kacey Montoya Reports

A 10-year-old Panorama City girl met Pope Francis and asked him to raise the issue of immigation reform when he meets President Barack Obama on Thursday. Kacey Montoya reports for the KTLA 5 News at 10 p.m. on March 26, 2014.

Girl, 10, Asks Pope to Help Immigrant Father – Lynette Romero Reports

Jersey Vargas, of Panorama City, traveled to the Vatican to ask Pope Francis to talk to President Obama about immigration reform. The 10-year-old’s father had been detained after he was caught driving without a valid license. Lynette Romero reports from the KTLA Newsroom for the KTLA 5 Morning News on Thursday, March 27, 2014.

Area immigration activists hope to meet with pope today

On Wednesday, they expect to participate in a mass general audience with Pope Francis, but they said they also have been told their group will be separated for a personal greeting with the pontiff.

“We don’t know if we have five minutes or 15 minutes, but we are anxious to speak with him, even if briefly,” said Francisco Moreno, a spokesman for the Consejo de Federaciones Mexicanas en Norteamérica, which promotes the advancement of the Latino community in North America.

Many Voices Try to Shape Pope Francis-Obama Meeting

In anticipation of Pope Francis’ Thursday meeting with President Barack Obama, activist Judie Brown sent the pontiff an unsolicited 12-page memo that detailed what she said is the administration’s hostility toward the church on issues such as abortion and contraception.

The meeting also spurred 10-year-old Jersey Vargas to travel to Rome from Los Angeles to ask the pope to help her and other American children of undocumented immigrants by supporting changes to U.S. immigration law.

Jersey and the Pope: Girl asks pontiff to help end deportations

Southern California immigration activists weren’t close enough to reach the pope Wednesday to deliver their message face-to-face against deportations of undocumented immigrants, but 10-year-old Jersey Vargas squeezed in between the masses and pushed herself to the front to greet him. She did it twice.

The activists, assisted by Los Angeles Archbishop José H. Gomez, arrived in Rome and delivered some 1,300 letters from children whose families fear deportation. They hoped to ask Pope Francis to intervene on their behalf with President Barack Obama when the two men meet Thursday. Vargas, who is articulate for her age, was their representative.

L.A. Girl With Dad In Deportation Asks Pope Francis To Push For U.S. Immigration Reform

Young Jersey Vargas arrived at the Vatican Wednesday morning carrying a cloth handkerchief her mother sewed with the words “Nest of Love” across the front.

The 10-year-old girl’s hope was to be able to hand it directly to none other than the pope himself.