USA Border Crisis 2014: What Is It and What is Obama Doing?

There is an immigration crisis in the U.S., and there has been one for quite a while. Massive numbers of immigrants are making their way toward America's borders in a bid for amnesty, and the government has taken aim at solving the issue.

Holding facilities are overcrowded, children are sleeping on mats on dirty cement floors, and the nation is divided in half between supporters and critics.

In a nation with tension as heightened over immigration as ours is, what can President Obama do to solve the issue? And what, if anything, is he planning to?

Here are the facts on the 2014 immigration crisis at the U.S. border. 

Central Americans are Fleeing Their Countries and Heading to U.S. Borders.

According to Customs and Border Protection, 52,193 “unaccompanied alien children” were apprehended on the Southwest border of the United States from the beginning of the 2014 fiscal year through June. That was nearly twice the number apprehended during the same period in the last fiscal year.

By the end of 2014, the numbers are expected to top well over 90,000, which is about 20,000 higher than the previous projection.

Most of These Immigrants are Not Adults, But Young Children.

Most of the immigrants arriving at the border are unaccompanied children from Central American countries -- El Salvador, Honduras and Guatemala -- who have made the trek through Mexico and onto U.S. soil. The numbers are overwhelming south Texas holding facilities, and their main point of entrance is in the Rio Grande Valley.

Critics Blame President Obama and "Amnesty" in the U.S. for the Influx

A number of questions have risen from the crisis, and some are quite pointed in their bid for answers. Senator Ted Cruz spoke to Sean Hannity recently, stating that “This is getting out of hand, all because the government refuses to send people home. I’m not sure why we refuse to enforce our laws.”

Critics are blaming President Obama's "lawlessness," while he in turn points the finger at conservative Republicans, who are refusing to pass proposals to address the immigration issues. But it's hardly Obama's lawlessness. In fact, by affording the children proper due process, he's following the law to the letter. 

According to the Daily Beast, In 2008, President George W. Bush signed into law the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, which said that unaccompanied minors from countries non-contiguous with the United States are afforded greater legal protections. Republicans backed that bill, but now they'd prefer not to follow the rules. 

Activists Blame Violence and Extreme Poverty in Central American Nations.

There are questions as to why -- if the reason behind the mass migration is a bid for amnesty -- there are not more Mexican children making their way across U.S. borders along with them.

Violence and poverty run rampant in the nations that these children are fleeing, and Honduras is the murder capital of the world. Children, many of them young girls, are fleeing the crisis in their home countries. With Honduras the murder capital of the world, and gang activity running rampant in Central American countries, there may be more to the story.

According to Vox, between 2009 and 2012 a civilian was more likely to be killed by violence in Guatemala, Honduras, or El Salvador than killed in Iraq at the height of the insurgency. Data analysis has shown that as the homicide rates go up, so do the number of unaccompanied kids migrating.

Almost 80 percent of these young unaccompanied immigrant children qualify to apply for amnesty under the law. There are tighter regulations for deporting children back to their home countries, and according to immigration activists, there should be.

And the U.S. Government Seems Unsure of the Cause.

According to a United States Department of Homeland Security document obtained by the Pew Research Center, "Many Guatemalan children come from rural areas, indicating they are probably seeking economic opportunities in the U.S. Salvadoran and Honduran children, on the other hand, come from extremely violent regions where they probably perceive the risk of traveling alone to the U.S. preferable to remaining at home.”

Whatever the Cause, the Immigration Crisis is Dividing the Nation.

The heightened tensions among the opposing branches of government are trickling down into the general public, too.

Clashes in Murrieta, California among pro and anti-immigration protesters have warranted officials to send in riot squads. There is pushback from cities around the nation, many of whom refuse to open their doors to young immigrants being transferred from Texas in order to reduce overcrowding.

Send them home, they say. But that may not be a possibility if we're following U.S. law. 

So What is the President Going to Do About It?

Well, that's where the whole thing gets a bit more tricky. President Obama is in a tough situation at the moment, with Congress being completely and utterly divided on the subject.

Conservative Republicans have promised to stall or rebuke efforts that would allow for the children to stay. A number of reform bills have not made it past the House, and staunch critics like John Boehner have voiced their opposition time and time again.

The President is currently seeking about $4 billion from Congress to address the crisis, but it's a tough road to travel, considering. Without a provision for expedited deportation to go along with the request, there isn't much chance of the funding being approved.

With that funding request, the President is also attempting to pass immigration reform that clarifies the nation's rules on immigration, while also addressing the issue at hand. It's unclear what will come of the push -- there is a question of whether he will relent to the expedited deportation to secure funds -- but does appear he's working toward a solution, if one can be found. 

The White House has sent the Vice President to Central American nations in recent weeks, as well. Biden met with national leaders to clarify immigration poliies while urging immigrants not to make the trek to America. 

Without the help of Republicans in Congress, though, it's not clear how much progress will be made toward reform. President Obama has vowed to make the moves himself, but he's bound by laws that limit his power to do so. 

Ultimately, it remains to be seen what will become of the proposed immigration reform. It's a conversation that is constantly in flux for the government, but also one that remains dauntingly consistent in its exponential growth.