WASHINGTON — From the Vatican to the U.S. Congress and campaign trail, expressions of anguish, empathy and outrage poured out Wednesday over the photos of a migrant father and young daughter who drowned while trying to cross the Rio Grande from Mexico to enter the United States without legal permission.

The photos show the bodies of the man and his 23-month-old daughter lying face down near the river bank. Her arm was draped around his neck, suggesting she clung to her father in their final moments. The photos published by the Mexican newspaper La Jornada were distributed worldwide by The Associated Press.

Oscar Alberto Martinez Ramirez and daughter Valeria were fleeing from El Salvador, which is wracked by violent crime. The mother, Tania Vanessa Avalos, was still on the Mexican side of the river and survived.

Some of the reaction:

Vatican City

Pope Francis saw the photos and was deeply saddened, a Vatican spokesman said.

“With immense sadness, the Holy Father has seen the images of the father and his baby daughter who drowned in the Rio Grande River while trying to cross the border between Mexico and the United States,” said the Vatican’s interim spokesman, Alessandro Gisotti.

“The pope is profoundly saddened by their death, and is praying for them and for all migrants who have lost their lives while seeking to flee war and misery,” Gisotti’s statement added.

Francis has frequently been vocal in his support of Mexico’s efforts to help migrants and critical of the U.S. for blocking them at the border. During a visit to the U.S.-Mexico border in 2016, he criticized then-presidential candidate Donald Trump, suggesting that anyone who wanted to build a wall along the border was “not a Christian.”

In April, the pontiff donated $500,000 to help migrants in Mexico, offering assistance to local projects that provide food, lodging and basic necessities.

U.S. Congress

Congress’ top Democrats said they hoped the photos would challenge the Trump administration’s conscience while pressuring the president to ease his efforts to make it harder for people to enter the U.S. A top Democrat said the photos should stir Congress to address the crisis on the border.

“This isn’t who we are as a country. We have obligations to humanity that are being completely ignored,” House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., told The Associated Press in a brief interview. “This is a manifestation of behavior that is outside the circle of civilized human behavior.”

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer suggested that Martinez and his daughter might not have died had Trump agreed to Democratic efforts to help migrants fleeing Central American countries to enter the U.S. as refugees.