Introduction

Pool photo by Eric Gay

President Obama is asking Congress for emergency funding as the number of unaccompanied minors crossing the U.S.-Mexico border rises at an alarming rate. Fleeing poverty and gang violence, motivated in part by rumors that they will gain legal status but now trapped in a legal limbo, many of the young migrants are making the dangerous journey from Central America.

What can be done to stem the surge of children illegally crossing into the U.S.? And how does this crisis fit into the larger debate for comprehensive immigration reform?