Francis slowly walked up to a sloped memorial that was built for his visit to commemorate those who have died along the Mexican border. He stood before a large cross overlooking the border fence, made the sign of the cross and prayed before laying a bouquet of flowers on a small table before the cross. Then he looked over to the United States and waved his hand to offer a papal blessing.

It lasted two minutes, maybe three. But for those moments, on both sides of the border, despite the huge crowds, there was only silence.

To a degree, Francis did tread carefully in his remarks, declining to assign blame, other than to denounce human trafficking. But while he did not directly criticize governments or government policies, he spoke deliberately and pointedly about “forced migration,” apparently using that terminology to call attention to the thousands of people who have fled violence and upheaval in Central America and to heighten an awareness of their plight. Honduras and El Salvador, for example, are now considered among the world’s deadliest places outside a war zone.

From 1965 to 2015, more than 16 million Mexicans entered the United States, one of the largest mass migrations in history and one that continues to inflame American politics. But today Mexico is less an exporter of migrants than the highway through which hundreds of thousands of Salvadorans, Hondurans and Guatemalans travel north. Under American pressure, the Mexican authorities are now cracking down, instituting Plan Frontera Sur, which has increased security on Mexico’s southern border. Now migrants must take different routes through the country, at great peril, and often they are dependent on smuggling rings.

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