How To Get The Pope To Hug You

As Pope Francis rode his popemobile through the streets of Washington, D.C., today, a little girl named Sofía Cruz climbed up onto the barricade that separated them and offered him a letter. Security tried to hold Cruz back, but the relentless little girl kept reaching. Eventually, the Pope got her message — he helped her out of the crowd and over the barricade to give her a hug.

Bob Sullivan, a freelance journalist, caught it all on camera and agreed to share his shots. Cruz and her parents, who are immigrants from Mexico, had traveled to D.C. from Los Angeles just for this moment. Like thousands of other men, women, and children, the Cruz family saw the Pope's visit as an opportunity to plead with him to help incite worldwide immigration reform. "I think immigrants should be legalized, since they have earned it. They work hard in the fields and the factories," Cruz told reporters prior to her pilgrimage. According to Sullivan and other outlets, the letter Cruz gave the Pope expressed the very savvy idea that immigrant parents of American children should not be deported. She also gave him a T-shirt bearing the slogan "Papa Rescate DAPA" or "Pope Rescue DAPA."

DAPA — Deferred Action for Parents of Americans and Lawful Permanent Residents — is the Obama Administration's plan to begin accepting requests from immigrant parents of American children to stay in the United States. It removes their risk of deportation for three years.

In February, a federal district court in the Southern District of Texas put a temporary suspension on DAPA after it ruled that the plan was not in line with federal procedure. While we wait for that to get sorted out, we can sign off on day two of the Papal visit with this fact: To be important enough to hug the pope, you need to be an adorable little girl toting an important messsage for the world.