The White House is seeking $3.7 billion in additional funding in response to the nearly 52,000 children who have arrived at the southern US border since last October. The funds for this "urgent humanitarian situation" would be used for providing care for the unaccompanied children as they await detention (including detention alternatives such as ankle bracelets), speeding up cases through the system, expanding law enforcement collaboration, and foreign campaigns to address root causes of migration, including funds for Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador, and Honduras to "support youth programs and develop skills and leadership among potential migrants."

It's not exactly clear how these "youth programs" will fare against brutal gangs and drug cartels who kill and/or threaten to kill--which this Daily Beast report cited as a cause of the migrant surge. In addition, interviews conducted by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees of over 400 of these migrant children from El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Mexico found that the "majority of the children were trying to escape violence and/or abuse in their home countries." Some disagree, however, arguing that President Obama's policies have contributed to the crisis on the border.

The White House is also seeking to change child anti-trafficking laws passed under George W. Bush (with bipartisan support) designed to protect at-risk and abused children. Democratic Representative Sheila Jackson Lee says: "'A massive deportation policy for children is not a humane thing to do.'"

For the first time since World War II, the number of displaced persons, asylum seekers, and refugees worldwide exceeds fifty million, with Afghanistan, Syria, and Somalia as the top three major source countries. The UN Refuge Agency released the report on World Refugee Day, and stated:

This massive increase was driven mainly by the war in Syria, which at the end of last year had forced 2.5 million people into becoming refugees and made 6.5 million internally displaced. Major new displacement was also seen in Africa – notably in Central African Republic and South Sudan.

"We are seeing here the immense costs of not ending wars, of failing to resolve or prevent conflict," said UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres. "Peace is today dangerously in deficit."

The report notes that a record 25,300 asylum applications were from children who were separated from or unaccompanied by parents. In that regard, the US is continuing to address the high influx of unaccompanied minors at the US/Mexico border with a House Committee hearing where Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson had to "remind members of Congress of the laws they passed to protect unaccompanied minors and prevent their further victimization." Also: some lawmakers are calling for lawyers for these minors. The Daily Beast makes an argument that "cartels may actually be responsible for the recent influx of Central Americans attempting to cross the Southwest border and, specifically, the surge in unaccompanied minors coming from the region." Meanwhile, Vice President Joe Biden heads to Central America to dissuade others from coming. Also: comedian John Oliver gives his take on immigration reform.