Facing a massive rise in the number of undocumented and unaccompanied minors crossing the border, overwhelmed Obama administration officials are seeking up to $2 billion from Congress to deal with the “urgent humanitarian situation.”(AP Photo/Susan Walsh, File)
Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the crisis occurring in the U.S. southern border.
Since October of last year, approximately 52 thousand unaccompanied migrant children have crossed the border as a result of gang related violence and economic problems that have erupted in Central America.
SEE ALSO: Children at the border: A personal, not a political crisis
Faced with this situation, the United States has held a series of meetings with leaders of affected countries and has remained at the forefront of each development as it unfolds.
With the goal of solving this problem as soon as possible, the President of the United States, alongside the Secretary of Homeland Security, tasked the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) with coordinating government efforts to respond to the humanitarian crisis.
A young migrant girl waits for a freight train to depart on her way to the U.S. border, in Ixtepec, Mexico, Saturday, July 12, 2014. The number of unaccompanied minors detained on the U.S. border has more than tripled since 2011. Children are also widely believed to be crossing with their parents in rising numbers. (AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)
In addition to this effort, the president recently sent Vice President Joe Biden, Secretary of Homeland Security, Jeh Johnson, and Secretary of State, John Kerry, to the border to see the problem first hand.
Also, in an effort to find a solution, Obama urged Congress this week to approve a budget of $3.7 billion to deal with this problem.
Now more than ever the Republicans should stop the political games and approve these funds as soon as possible. The time of hypocrisy is over, its time for Republicans to be leaders and work with Democrats to solve this problem once and for all.
Recently, instead of dealing with the problem, several politicians have wastefully spent their time noting that this is Obamas Katrina, comparing the presidents decision not to visit the border to President Bushs failure to immediately visit the areas affected by Hurricane Katrina in 2005.
It is clear that President Obama is not looking for an opportunity to score political points; the only thing he is looking for is to solve this problem as soon as possible.
Comparing a natural disaster to a humanitarian crisis does not work and is not grounded in any sort of logic.
Not only that, the administration also understands that this is not just a problem of the United States, but a problem that involves the entire region.
That is why the United States is working, day after day, to establish an educational campaign to both explain the consequences of crossing the border and continue explaining that none of the current immigration laws would benefit a majority of these children.
This type of crisis only serves as a reminder of the need for immigration reform, where our immigration system is not only more effective, but also has more legal channels for people wishing to immigrate to the United States.
Hopefully Republicans will not repeat the mistake they made with immigration reform and instead tackle the problem as real leaders. If they do not, the consequences will not only be negative for the party, but for the entire nation.
SEE ALSO: Advocates say Obama should visit migrant children at the border
