Pope Leo Appoints Former Undocumented Immigrant as Bishop in Deep Red West Virginia Diocese

Pope Leo XIV has appointed Bishop Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, a former undocumented immigrant, to lead the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston in West Virginia, a state that voted overwhelmingly for Donald Trump. Menjivar-Ayala’s life story is a striking rebuke to the Trump administration’s harsh immigration policies. As a teenager fleeing El Salvador’s guerrilla warfare and poverty, he tried multiple times to enter the United States illegally, including being smuggled in the trunk of a car after a bribe secured his release from Mexican prison.

The appointment comes amid heightened tensions between the Vatican and the Trump White House over refugee policies and ICE enforcement. Menjivar-Ayala has been an outspoken critic of aggressive immigration crackdowns, calling some enforcement actions “violations of fundamental human rights” and warning against dehumanizing migrants. He challenged Catholic officials aligned with Trump’s border czar Thomas Homan who condemned bishops opposing immigration enforcement.

Wheeling diocese spokesman Tim Bishop defended the appointment as a blessing for West Virginians and dismissed claims that the pope’s decision was a political jab at President Trump as “absurd.” Still, the move is widely viewed as part of Pope Leo’s effort to elevate clergy voices that challenge the administration’s approach to immigration and human rights.

Menjivar-Ayala’s story embodies the immigrant struggle and the church’s call for compassion amid a climate of rising anti-immigrant animus. His leadership in a deeply Republican, predominantly white state signals a direct challenge to the Trump administration’s narrative and policies on immigration enforcement. The bishop’s appointment underscores the Vatican’s refusal to remain silent on the human cost of the Trump era’s authoritarian and xenophobic overreach.