Pope Leo names priest who criticized Trump's immigration crackdown as West Virginia bishop

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The next bishop for West Virginia Catholics will be an El Salvador-born advocate for immigrants who has opposed U.S. President Donald Trump's immigration crackdown policies. Pope Leo XIV announced Friday the appointment of the Most Rev. Evelio Menjivar-Ayala, an auxiliary bishop in Washington, D.C., as the new leader of the Diocese of Wheeling-Charleston, which comprises West Virginia, one of the nation's least racially diverse states. READ MORE: Pope Leo XIV prays with Archbishop of Canterbury Sarah Mullally in historic encounter Menjivar-Ayala, 55, fled El Salvador's civil war as a teen in the late 1980s, eventually crossing illegally into the United States in 1990, he told The Associated Press in an interview last year. But within "a couple of weeks" he gained humanitarian protection, later was granted a visa as a religious worker, and became a U.S. citizen two decades ago. Nonetheless, he feels close to immigrants who have been caught up by raids, including last year's federal law enforcement surge in Washington, because "that could have been me," he said in 2025. WATCH: Vance says Pope Leo should 'be careful' when talking about religion The Catholic Church has long advocated for humane treatment of migrants and