The president needs to direct the Federal Aviation Administration to allow drones to monitor suspected illegal activity along the border and track those responsible. He also needs to work with Congress to revisit and modify existing laws, including a 2008 law that unintentionally makes it harder to deport individuals from countries other than Mexico and Canada. Such laws serve as magnets for illegal immigrants, who are hearing that if they or their children make it to the U.S. they can stay indefinitely, without consequence.

There also has to be an increased federal emphasis on diplomatic efforts. We need to put pressure on the countries where these children are coming from, such as Honduras and El Salvador, as well as on the Mexican government, which is reportedly implementing new laws to track but not stop the flow of children through its country. Mexico would be better served securing its own southern borders than making it easier for children to travel alone through dangerous territory.

Everyone feels sympathy for the children housed in detention centers. But there is nothing compassionate about policies that encourage more young children to leave their families and travel to a foreign land. They are in extreme danger on every step of the journey, clinging to the tops and sides of trains and at the mercy of human smugglers. Letting them stay means that far more will follow.