WASHINGTON — A 5- year-old girl in a brilliantly colored dress and braids who was handed up to Pope Francis for a blessing during a parade in Washington on Wednesday morning urged the pontiff to give his blessing to immigration reform and push lawmakers to act.

Sophie Cruz, of South Gate, California, delivered a bright yellow T-shirt and a letter expressing wishes that her mother and father and millions of others who are in the U.S. illegally are allowed to remain in the country. Her trip was sponsored by an advocacy group.

“I’m scared that the ICE will take my family away,” Sophie Cruz told The Associated Press in an interview, referring to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.

Sophie got beyond a barricade and approached the popemobile, carrying the T-shirt that read in Spanish: “Pope: rescue DAPA, so the legalization would be your blessing.” It refers to a program called Deferred Action for Parents of Americans, which would extend deportation protections to parents of U.S. citizens and permanent residents who have been in the country for some years, but is on hold after 26 states sued to block it.

Sophie shied back when a bodyguard came near. But when the pope gestured to her, she allowed the bodyguard to pick her up and bring her forward for a papal kiss and blessing. A guard passed the shirt and message into the popemobile.

“I believe I have the right to live with my parents,” Sophie said later in the day. “I have the right to be happy. My dad works very hard in a factory galvanizing pieces of metal. All immigrants just like my dad feed this country. They deserve to live with dignity. They deserve to live with respect.”

Comments are not available on this story.