A large Roman Catholic diocese pushed back at criticism Friday after Pope Leo XIV appointed a former illegal immigrant as a bishop amid heightened tensions between the Vatican and Washington over refugees and ICE enforcement.

Leo nominated Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala as bishop of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, which covers all of West Virginia. Menjivar-Ayala originally arrived in San Ysidro, California, smuggled in a car trunk after making several prior attempts as a teenager to flee guerrilla war-torn El Salvador.

The bishop has also been critical of increased immigration enforcement measures, calling them a human rights concern and responding directly to critiques of the church from fellow Catholics in the Trump administration like border czar Thomas Homan.

After commentary piled up on social media Friday, Wheeling diocese spokesman Tim Bishop told Fox News Digital Menjivar-Ayala’s appointment is a blessing to West Virginians, praising the clergyman’s pastoral work and service.

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«Bishop Evelio came [to America] some time ago looking for a better life and better opportunities, and thank God he did because he will shepherd the faith of our diocese,» Bishop said.

«Any insinuation that the Holy Father made this or any other appointment in any way to increase vitriol or insinuate that it gets back at the president of the United States is absurd,» Bishop added, noting he was not speaking for Leo.

The Roman Catholic Church «worries about the lamb, not the elephant or the donkey,» he said.

Meanwhile, «Letters from Leo» publisher and former DNC delegate Christopher Hale tweeted the bishop is a «remarkable choice» by Leo to lead a «state that is over 90% White and voted for President Trump by 42 points.»

Media outlets in the United States and France highlighted the appointment in light of Leo’s reported aversion to Trump’s immigration enforcement policies.

At a 2025 forum, Menjivar-Ayala said criticism of the Catholic Church’s stance toward immigration enforcement is not a question for him to answer but for those officials to discern how they are living the Gospel after he was asked about Homan’s comments that bishops at a national conference in Baltimore were «wrong» in rebuking illegal immigration enforcement.

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«The question is for them, for those who claim to be Catholic but are not seeing the face of Christ in the migrants,» Menjivar-Ayala said, according to World Catholic Report, which also said the newly minted West Virginian advised caution about characterizing illegal immigration as similar to murder and theft.

Menjivar-Ayala tried as many as three times as a teenager to flee to the U.S. but was caught each time, including once by Mexican authorities who imprisoned him.

Amid guerrilla warfare and extreme poverty in his home country in the 1980s, Menjivar-Ayala was first deported to Guatemala by Mexican authorities who caught him in the border town of Tijuana, according to an interview with U.S. Catholic. He then attempted to travel through the Guatemalan jungle on a second attempt but returned home on his own.

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Finally, Menjivar-Ayala was successful after a bribe was paid to secure his release from a Mexican prison in Chiapas, and an elderly American smuggled him and three others through the San Ysidro border checkpoint while they were crammed in the trunk of the man’s car, according to The Washington Post.

Menjivar-Ayala told U.S. Catholic he found odd janitorial jobs but eventually relocated to Hyattsville, Maryland, near extended family, where he cleaned a UPS site.

It was there in Prince George’s County where he first began working as a youth minister and was able to obtain a green card for legal residence through what he said was an extant religious visa policy.

The Washington Post characterized Leo’s move Friday as another effort to «elevate» American clergy relevant to tension points with the Trump administration.

President Donald Trump has lambasted Leo — born Robert Prevost in Illinois — and quipped that he much prefers his «brother [Louis who] is MAGA all the way.»

Trump has said he has «nothing against» Leo, who has a right to disagree on subjects like the legitimacy and human rights aspects of the Iran conflict and illegal immigration crisis.

POPE LEO XIV STRONGLY SUPPORTS US BISHOPS’ CONDEMNATION OF TRUMP IMMIGRATION RAIDS: ‘EXTREMELY DISRESPECTFUL’

In 2025, Menjivar-Ayala criticized Trump’s immigration enforcement push in a Catholic Standard column, «This Ordeal is the Passion,» which featured an image of a suspect being detained by federal authorities.

«The Church remembers Christ’s suffering, death, and resurrection of Jesus in a spiritual and sacramental way during Holy Week and the Easter Triduum, but some people actually experience the Passion in a tangible and personal way in their very lives. Among them are members of the immigrant and refugee communities today,» Menjivar-Ayala wrote, referring to the Passion of Christ, Jesus’ crucifixion, death and resurrection.

«Yet, while redemptive suffering is a grace, it would be better still if these injustices and infamies did not happen at all,» the bishop later added, calling for people to speak up in the style of martyred St. Oscar Romero.

He went on to say that the «dark side of anti-immigrant animus» cannot be allowed to take hold and called some recent enforcement behavior a «violation of fundamental human rights,» while also appearing to reference actions taken against the Catholic Church in that regard.

Trump’s Department of Health & Human Services Office of Refugee Resettlement recently canceled an $11 million contract with Catholic Charities of Miami that had aided in housing unaccompanied minors, according to the Miami Herald.

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While Trump has not yet been able to meet with Leo, the first American pope has held audiences with Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker and Obama confidant David Axelrod.

Fox News Digital reached out to the Vatican, White House and DHS for additional comment.

El presidente Donald Trump anunció este viernes que la próxima semana aumentará los aranceles que impone a automóviles y camiones de la Unión Europea al 25%, una medida que puede provocar un fuerte impacto en la economía mundial en un momento frágil. Sin dar detalles, Trump argumentó que la UE «no está cumpliendo con nuestro Acuerdo Comercial plenamente acordado».

Trump hizo el anuncio sobre el aumento en Truth Social y aclaró: “Se entiende y se acepta plenamente que, si producen coches y camiones en plantas de EE.UU., NO HABRÁ ARANCEL.”

Y agregó que “actualmente están en construcción muchas plantas de automóviles y camiones, con más de 100.000 millones de dólares invertidos, un RÉCORD en la historia de la fabricación de coches y camiones. Estas plantas, con personal de trabajadores estadounidenses, abrirán pronto — ¡Nunca ha habido nada como lo que está ocurriendo en Estados Unidos hoy en día!”

«I will be increasing Tariffs charged to the European Union for Cars and Trucks coming into the United States. The Tariff will be increased to 25%. It is fully understood and agreed that, if they produce Cars and Trucks in U.S.A. Plants, there will be NO TARIFF.» – President… pic.twitter.com/7vC3Nh7iPD

— The White House (@WhiteHouse) May 1, 2026

El jefe de la Casa Blanca y la presidenta de la Comisión Europea, Ursula von der Leyen, habían rubricado el acuerdo comercial en julio, que había establecido un arancel del 15% sobre la mayoría de los bienes. La UE también acordó comprar energía por valor de 750.000 millones de dólares a EE. UU. como parte de ese acuerdo.

Ese acuerdo fue notablemente inferior al arancel del 30 por ciento que el presidente había amenazado para la UE y así evitó una guerra comercial entre ambas partes.

Pero el estatus del pacto de 2025 se puso en duda por primera vez después de que el Tribunal Supremo dictaminara este año que el presidente republicano carecía de la autoridad legal para declarar una emergencia económica e imponer aranceles a los productos de la UE.

El acuerdo inicial había sido un techo arancelario del 15% sobre los productos procedentes de la UE, pero la sentencia del Tribunal Supremo lo redujo al 10% cuando el gobierno de Trump lanzó un nuevo conjunto de impuestos a la importación basados en otras leyes.

El gobierno de Trump está en medio de investigaciones sobre desequilibrios comerciales y riesgos para la seguridad nacional para imponer un nuevo régimen arancelario, que podría poner en riesgo el acuerdo con la UE.

La UE había dicho que esperaba que el acuerdo bilateral ahorrara a los fabricantes europeos entre 500 y 600 millones de euros (entre 585 y 700 millones de dólares) al mes.

El valor del comercio de bienes y servicios entre la UE y Estados Unidos ascendió a 1,7 billones de euros (2 billones de dólares) en 2024, o una media de 4.600 millones de euros al día, según la agencia de estadísticas de la UE Eurostat.

«Un acuerdo es un acuerdo», dijo la Comisión Europea en febrero tras la sentencia del Tribunal Supremo. «Como mayor socio comercial de Estados Unidos, la UE espera que cumpla sus compromisos establecidos en la Declaración Conjunta, así como la UE mantiene sus compromisos. Los productos de la UE deben seguir beneficiándose del trato más competitivo, sin aumentos de aranceles más allá del límite claro y inclusivo previamente acordado.»

Los nuevos aranceles anunciados por Trump surgen en el contexto de la guerra con Irán, que ha provocado un aumento de las tensiones entre Estados Unidos y varios países europeos.

Trump ha criticado sistemáticamente a los miembros europeos de la OTAN por no ayudar a EE.UU. en la guerra contra Irán, mientras que las naciones europeas se han negado a permitir que los militares estadounidenses utilicen su espacio aéreo en distintos momentos del conflicto.

Además, se da en medio de un aumento de precios del combustible en el mundo por el cierre del Estrecho de Ormuz, con una suba en los surtidores estadounidenses de casi el 50% desde el inicio de la guerra. El aumento de tarifas subiría también el precio de los automóviles en EE.UU.

Un sitio de la oposición demócrata comentaba con ironía el anuncio del presidente: “Trump anuncia con orgullo que no solo el combustible es más caro, sino que los autos también”

A progressive candidate aiming to unseat a vulnerable Republican in a battleground House district is leaning into a politically fraught issue that has dogged the Democratic Party. 

Tina Shah, an ER physician and former Biden administration official, appeared to back taxpayer-funded sex change procedures for minors in a video obtained by Fox News Digital. 

When asked whether children should have the «right to transgender healthcare,» Shah replied, «This is a no-brainer.»

«Healthcare is a right, period,» the New Jersey Democrat added. «It includes transgender children.»  

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Shah is one of four relatively well-funded Democrats vying to take on Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., in November’s midterm elections. Kean’s suburban swing seat is considered one of the most competitive House districts in the country.

Shah’s apparent embrace of «transgender healthcare» for minors aligns with the views of her former boss, Surgeon General Vivek Murthy, who denounced Republican-led states cracking down on child sex-change procedures during the Biden administration. Shah served as a senior advisor to Murthy in 2021 and 2022.

The National Republican Congressional Committee, House Republicans’ campaign arm, sharply criticized Shah’s support for «transgender healthcare» for children in a statement to Fox News Digital.

«Radical Democrat Tina Shah said it loud and clear: She’d be a vote for radical policies like sex changes for minors and taxpayer-funded drag queens,» NRCC spokeswoman Maureen O’Toole said. «Shah is completely out of step with Garden State families.» 

Fox News Digital reached out to Shah’s campaign prior to publication.

Shah’s remarks come as some Democrats have blamed the party’s lurch to the left on the issue for its poor performance in the 2024 election.

Major medical groups, which previously offered full-throated support for child sex changes, have also largely retreated from the issue, with the American Medical Association in February saying those procedures should be generally postponed to adulthood. 

Still, Democrats in Congress have not made a clear attempt to calibrate on transgender issues.

Just a handful of Democrats crossed party lines in 2025 to vote for GOP-authored legislation that would have criminalized child sex changes. Kean was among nearly all Republicans who supported the bill.

Rep. Tom Kean Jr., R-N.J., is running for a third House term in 2026 after fending off Democratic challengers in prior election cycles. (Getty Images)

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The nonpartisan Cook Political Report rates Kean’s re-election bid a «toss-up.» The election prognosticator downgraded the race for Republicans last year after Gov. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., carried the swing district by two points.

Shah entered April with nearly $1.4 million in the bank, according to recent Federal Election Commission filings. Navy veteran Rebecca Bennett and businessman Brian Valera, who are also vying for the Democratic nomination ahead of the June primary, have posted similar fundraising numbers.

Kean’s campaign notably dwarfs the field with roughly $3.4 million cash on hand. 

The GOP incumbent, who fended off a competitive Democratic challenge in 2024, has come under recent scrutiny for a prolonged absence from Congress due to an unspecified health issue.

Gov. Mikie Sherrill, D-N.J., narrowly carried Rep. Tom Kean Jr.’s battleground district in 2025. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images)

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Kean has missed 52 roll call votes in the House since March 17, amounting to a 100% absence rate, according to GovTrack, a website that monitors congressional activities. 

«My doctors continue to assure me that my recovery will be complete and that I will be back to the job I love very soon,» he said in a statement last week. «I expect to return to a full schedule and be at 100 percent.»