Pope speaks on behalf of immigrants

Pope Francis is encouraging U.S. bishops in their ministry to help immigrants, praising them for taking up their cause and urging them to welcome even more foreigners coming across the border.

Francis praised the bishops for defending the rights of migrants, helping them to prosper and keeping their faith alive. He said in his remarks Wednesday: "Do not be afraid to welcome them ... I am certain that, as so often in the past, these people will enrich America and its church."

U.S. bishops have been demanding a more welcoming policy toward immigrants in the country and hoping Francis' visit will counter a divisive issue in the presidential campaign.

Tens of thousands of families and unaccompanied minors from Central America have surged across the border as violence has flared in the region. Many have been held in detention centers that the U.S. bishops and immigrant-rights advocates have decried as inhumane and ineffective.