The pontiff showed solidarity with migrants in a rebuttal to the GOP (Grand Old Party – Republican) front-runner. Without naming him, Pope Francis rebuked Donald Trump and GOP immigration hardliners during a visit to the US/Mexico border. He led Mass in a field just a few hundred feet away from the United States. He laid flowers at a nearby memorial honouring migrants who had died trying to cross the border. He said, ‘We cannot deny the humanitarian crisis which in recent years has meant migration for thousands by train, highway or foot, crossing hundreds of kilometres through mountains, deserts and other inhospitable zones. The human tragedy that forces migration is a global phenomenon. They are expelled by poverty, violence, drug trafficking and criminal organisations. No more death! No more exploitation! There is still time to change, there is still a way out and a chance, time to implore the mercy of God.’