McClatchy DC: Pope’s address to Congress resonates with Texas lawmakers

"I WILL CARRY POPE FRANCIS' WORDS WITH ME AS WE MOVE FORWARD TO ADDRESS THE PROBLEMS THAT LAY BEFORE US...REFORMING OUR BROKEN IMMIGRATION SYSTEM, ERADICATING POVERTY AND ENSURING THAT ALL HAVE A VOICE IN OUR NATION'S DEMOCRACY." Rep. Marc Veasey, D-Texas

Francis' remarks on immigration became a defining message for many.

Rep. Beto O'Rourke, a Democrat from El Paso, along the southern border, said his favorite line of the speech was, "We, the people of this continent, are not fearful of foreigners, because most of us were once foreigners."

"I will carry Pope Francis' words with me as we move forward to address the problems that lay before us as a country," said Rep. Marc Veasey, a Fort Worth Democrat who invited a DREAMer – a person brought as a child illegally to the U.S. –to the speech.