Pope Leo’s First U.S. Bishop Stands Up to Trump

Rev. Michael Pham, the first U.S. bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV, is leading a call to action urging Catholic clergy and parish leaders to accompany migrants to immigration court hearings. Knewz.com has learned that Rev. Pham’s appeal — co-signed by Rev. Felipe Pulido and Rev. Ramón Bejarano, both appointed by Pope Francis — marks a growing religious backlash against President Donald Trump’s escalating immigration enforcement policies.

First U.S. Bishop Appointed by Pope Leo Mobilizes Priests

The appeal came ahead of International Refugee Day, when priests, nuns, and faith leaders planned to gather at a federal court building in San Diego. Their mission was simple but profound: to stand alongside vulnerable migrants as they face judges who may order them deported. “A group of priests and faith leaders are planning to visit the federal court building to stand in solidarity with migrants who are making their court appearances. We know that migrants and refugees find themselves in the difficult predicament of being called to appear, which is what the government asks of them, and then being given orders for expedited removal from our country,” the letter reads. “This group of priests and faith leaders will simply be present during this process as it has been experienced that the presence of faith leaders makes a difference in how the migrants are treated. Unfortunately, it will most likely not change the outcome,” the letter added.

Rev. Pham is a Refugee Himself

Rev. Pham’s words carry the weight of lived trauma, as he knows firsthand the pain of forced migration. Born in Da Nang, Vietnam, Pham fled the country with his family in 1981, per reports. At just 8 years old, he embarked on a journey aboard a crowded rice barge, drifting for days without food or water among the corpses of fellow refugees. “I thought they were sleeping,” he later recalled, “but I came to realize they were dead.” Escaping by sea to Malaysia, Pham and his siblings endured pirate raids and harsh conditions in a refugee camp before being sponsored by an American family and resettling in Blue Earth, Minnesota. Years later, after studying aeronautical engineering and experiencing a religious calling, Pham became a priest, eventually rising to become the first U.S. bishop appointed by Pope Leo XIV. According to reports, Pham was mentored by Cardinal Robert McElroy, who was a supporter of the late Pope Francis, focusing on issues such as climate change and immigrant rights.

Rising National Tension over Immigration Enforcement

Since taking office in January 2025, President Trump’s administration has ramped up deportations and carried out sweeping ICE raids. The president also deployed the National Guard and U.S. Marines in response to unrest in places like Los Angeles, where violent clashes broke out recently with scenes of vehicles on fire, demonstrating motorcyclists smashing through police lines and tear gas being used against protesters.

The Pope’s Stance on Immigration

It has been reported that Pope Leo XIV, formerly Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, has already indicated unease with Trump’s immigration policy. His brother, John Prevost, told the media shortly after Leo’s election in May that the Pope is “not happy with what’s going on with immigration.” Prevost said in a statement, “I know he’s not happy with what’s going on with immigration. I know that for a fact. How far he’ll go with it is only one’s guess, but he won’t just sit back. I don’t think he’ll be the silent one.” Pope Leo’s predecessor, Pope Francis, had said in a previous letter to U.S. bishops that while nations have a right to defend themselves, “the act of deporting people who in many cases have left their own land for reasons of extreme poverty, insecurity, exploitation, persecution or serious deterioration of the environment, damages the dignity of many men and women, and of entire families, and places them in a state of particular vulnerability and defenselessness.”

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