Pope Francis Taunts Donald Trump

Reuters/Ginnette Riquelme

Donald Trump clashes with Pope Francis over migrants - The Vatican responded to the growing hubub about Pope Francis's visit to the U.S.-Mexico border, arguing the pontiff wasn't jumping into the U.S. presidential race but that his concern for migrants is a global issue.

Following criticism from Republican candidate Donald Trump, the Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, responded late Tuesday saying that "the pope always talks about migration problems all around the world," the Associated Press reported.

Lombardi added that Pope Francis also focuses on "the duties we have to solve these problems in a humane manner, of hosting those who come from other countries in search of a life of dignity and peace."

Pope Francis arrives in Ciudad Juarez, a Mexican border town across from El Paso, Tex., on Wednesday. It's the last stop on his six-day tour of Mexico, where he's highlighted corruption, violence and drug-trafficking. His stop in Juarez is expected to include a call for compassion for the thousands of migrants crossing over the border into the United States.

That's an explosive issue in the U.S. presidential race. Both Trump and his Republican rival Sen. Ted Cruz have promised to deport all of the millions of undocumented immigrants in the United States. Trump has vowed to block Muslims from entering the country, build a wall across the entire Mexico border, revoke birthright citizenship and other measures.

[Watch Pope Francis lose his balance — and his temper]

Trump had kicked off the exchange by criticizing the pope. In a Fox Business Network interview, Trump called Francis “a very political person.”

"I don't think he understands the danger of the open border we have with Mexico,” Trump said.

“And I think Mexico got him to do it because Mexico wants to keep the border just the way it is, because they’re making a fortune and we’re losing,” Trump added.