AN EPISCOPALIAN priest and his wife have urged parents who are seeking to protect their children to appoint only United States citizens as guardians.

The priest, the Revd Vidal Rivas, and his wife (not named) are caring for two children whose mother has been detained by immigration officials: a four-year-old boy and his 18-month-old sister. The couple have been appointed standby guardians for 26 children of migrant parents, in case of their arrest or detention.

They have warned other migrant families that appointing US citizens or permanent residents as standby guardians is the best way to secure their children’s safety in the United States at present.

Fr Rivas told the media channel News4 that the mother of the two young children “was doing things right”, but had nevertheless been detained during an appointment with immigration authorities. He said that her two children were suffering greatly as a result of her absence.

“Truly, the suffering is great. You can see the pain in the children — the pain of not having their mother,” he said.

He would, he said, continue as a guardian for the children of migrant families for as long as is needed. “It’s truly as if they were your own children.”

Fr Rivas fled El Salvador for the United States to escape persecution. Originally a Roman Catholic priest, he has served in the Episcopal Church since 2008 and is currently Senior Priest of St Matthew’s, in Hyattsville, Maryland. Some of his congregation had been supporting the couple in their care of the children, he said.

An immigration attorney, Kelley Ortega, told News4 that migrant parents were having to plan ahead for potential separations. “‘Devastating’ I think is the best word, because it’s not a situation that a parent looks forward to, having to look for these types of documents or look to make these preparations. You know, they do so in great fear,” she said.