Girl talks to pope on immigration, then dad freed
In this March 26, 2014, photo provided by Catholic Coalition of Immigrant Rights, Pope Francis touches 10-year-old Jersey Vargas, who traveled to the Vatican from Los Angeles to plead with him to help spare her father from deportation, during a public audience at St. Peter’s Square in Vatican City. Her father, Mario Vargas, in the United States illegally, had been in federal custody and faced possible deportation. After speaking with Francis, Mario Vargas was released on bond from immigration detention, Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday, March 28, 2014. Jersey Vargas was part of a California delegation that sought to encourage the Vatican to prod President Obama on immigration reform. AP
LOS ANGELES — After a California girl traveled to the Vatican to plead with Pope Francis for help as her father faced deportation, the man was freed on bond from immigration detention.
Immigration and Customs Enforcement said Friday that Mario Vargas was released from custody in Louisiana. A judge will determine if he’s deported. ICE says Vargas was arrested last year in Tennessee and convicted of driving under the influence before he was taken into federal custody.
His release came after his 10-year-old daughter Jersey 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’s mother says a relative who saw the girl on television offered to help put up the rest of the $5,000 bond.
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