'I would like to relinquish my U.S. citizenship' - Priest makes amazing offer of love for banned refugee

'Becoming a refugee is a choice one makes when there are no other options.'

In a letter dated January 27, 2017, the White House received a letter from St. Joseph's Salesian Youth Renewal Center's Fr. Chuong Hoai Nguyen, a Vietnamese-born U.S. citizen, who made a daring request of U.S. President Donald Trump.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - In the letter, Fr. Nguyen explained Tềt, the Vietnamese New Year.

It is during Tềt when the Vietnamese celebrate and anticipate the new year.

He clearly explained:

"Today is the beginning of the Vietnamese New Year we call Tềt.  It is a traditional time to celebrate and look with much hope and joy to the new year. This morning, you signed an Executive Order that indefinitely suspends admission for Syrian refugees and limits the number of other refugees into the United States. My heart and my soul were frozen. I have heard many stories you shared during your campaign to make America great again." I am writing today because I am one of those stories.

"I am a refugee. I am one of the hundreds of thousands of "boat people" who fled Viet Nam. On April 29, 1975, the day before the "fall of Saigon," my parents put me, my brothers and sisters (ages 6-21) on that perilous journey into the unknown. Our overcrowded boat had no captain and no crew; my father, brothers, and many others became seamen on that weeklong trip with little food or water. We were lucky to have even gotten on that boat. My parents had already fled North Viet Nam in 1953, and were again fleeing the Cộng Sản and Communist rule.

Becoming a refugee is a choice one makes when there are no other options.

The U.S. 7th Fleet watched over our vessel and guided us from international waters to Subic Bay where we were warmly welcomed as political refugees. We were fortunate. We survived - unlike the estimated 200,000-400,000 refugees who died at sea. We were given the gift of life and we have not squandered that gift.

"I am grateful for the millions of Americans wearing the uniform who defended the Republic of Viet Nam, especially the 58,220 service men and women who lost their lives. For the past 42 years I have done my best to "make America great." I became a member of the Salesians of Don Bosco Society in 1979 (www.SDB.org). As a young priest, I wanted to become a U.S. military chaplain in order to give back to the men and women who dedicate their lives to defending our freedom. Over the past 30+ years, I have taught at high schools and colleges in Florida, Massachusetts, Louisiana, New York, and New Jersey. I am presently Director of Youth Ministry and Youth Retreat specialist at St. Joseph Salesian Youth Renewal Center, in Rosemead, California, and Chaplain for the Vietnamese Catholic community at San Gabriel Mission in the archdiocese of Los Angeles, California.

"In 1998, I founded Youth 117 to promote the heritage and spirit of the sacrifices of Vietnamese Catholic Martyrs and to empower young people to live out their Christian faith in the Church and in the community. My Salesian Brothers and I led Vietnamese-American pilgrimages at World Youth Day in Denver (USA), Rome (Italy), Toronto (Canada), Cologne (Germany), Sydney (Australia), Madrid (Spain), Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), and Kraków (Poland).

"...Yes! I am a refugee. I am an American and I have made America great in my own way for the 42 years since I was granted asylum in this great country. But now, I would like to relinquish my U.S. citizenship and ask that you grant it to a Syrian refugee. I am certain that they, like all refugees, will not squander this gift of life. I believe they will also "make America great," alongside your children and grandchildren.

"I will ask my religious leader to grant me permission to continue my mission in one of the seven banned Muslim-majority countries on your list of people barred from entering the U.S. In this, I ask your blessing.

"I continue to keep you, your family, your administration and our nation in my prayers.

"Reverend Chuong Hoai Nguyen, SDB."

The date the letter was written, January 27, was also the day President Trump signed the executive order barring refugees from entering the United States.

According to the Catholic Herald, Fr. Nguyen admitted to writing and mailing three copies of the letter but has yet to hear from the White House.

He understands there is a lot going on right now so if the letter has yet to be read, he understands.

Though he hasn't heard back from the government, his superiors did tell him, "Whenever you're ready, we'll pick you up and reassign you," in accordance to his request.

He hopes to minister in Syria and shared he wanted to see the same amount of commitment from the government.

Fr. Nguyen really just wants to give another refugee a chance to escape the dehumanizing agony of being a refugee.

"I've been a refugee!" he stated. "Been there, done that."

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