Two days ago, I wrote to condemn the Trump-Sessions policy that splits families at border crossings, referencing in passing the distressed world that has led us to this juncture. This messiness deserves a follow-up discussion.

As some have (through conflation) pointed out, the housing of children is not a new practice. It happened, however, under circumstances not exactly matching the more encompassing, sweeping way children end up in detention centers today. Let us count the ways:

1. Children were for a time arriving in large numbers at the border unaccompanied. When some today point to the Obama’s administration past handling of children, this (and not the arrival of families) was the principal driver.
2. In other cases, children were arriving with adults claiming to be their parents, but who were in fact smuggling them as part of human trafficking. We should agree a child is better off in detention or foster care than in these circumstances. (By the way, to combat child trafficking, a law signed in the last days of the Bush administration fed the increase in unaccompanied minors — yes, messy indeed)
3. Children were also arriving with their parents, but these adults were caught carrying something special — drugs, mainly. For this additional offense, they were incarcerated, and yes, as an American would experience under normal circumstances, their children were placed in protective custody.
4. Finally, a variant of #3, the children themselves served as drug mules. Figuring that if the child was caught, rather than the adult, legal repercussions would not follow, hey, why not?

We can by enlarge only guess about the prevalence of each of these cases two years ago, one year ago, or one day ago. Good luck coming up with accurate and widely accepted statistics when a large number of your sample group slink through undetected.

In any case, at present, we see a different scenario. The current broader policy to prosecute any adult caught crossing the border as a misdemeanor, with immediate incarceration, and separating any children that got caught in the arrest, seeks to resolve the much maligned practice of “catch and release.”

In the past, only adults traveling by themselves were detained. Families were processed and released, with a promise to appear in court. As you might imagine, that promise went unfulfilled in most cases, with the families disappearing into American society. As the Trump administration has tried to explain (mostly ineffectively), as the law is currently structured, they have no choice but to release families (80% of which never return for follow-up processing) into American society, or to split them during detention. Congressional action is required in order to enable processing that keeps families together.

One further complication involves those seeking asylum. Technically an individual or family presenting themselves at an official border crossing to request asylum is not processed as an border violator. Hence no misdemeanor. Hence no incarceration or family splitting. That sounds nice until one realizes that of late, border crossings have limited processing of applicants to a trickle. This leaves families with the choice of staying out in a hot desert to wait for tomorrow’s line, and the next day’s… or brave an illegal crossing. When caught, asking for asylum does not serve: they have already committed a misdemeanor.

Yup. One messed up world. People fleeing poverty and persecution. Families submitting themselves to a dangerous, hungry journey. Drug smuggling in exchange for a coyote’s service. Child human trafficking. Governments playing legal tricks for political gain. Human suffering as bargaining chip in the art of the deal.

Now, for the biggest trick. Go ahead. Solve this.

A basic proposal might build on a simple proposition: Lock down that border so that only legal migrants can come in through official border crossings and after undergoing proper processing. In short, make this work through streamlined processing of asylum requests and work permits and visas. And agree none of this amounts for anything without a controlled border.

But there’s nothing simple about this. Not when you mix in hard-headed, intransigent politics. Not when one can get so much mileage out of this “issue” during an election. Not when it hyper-energizes your base…

Yet, this seems foolhardy, if as polls suggest, most Americans want a solution that does not depend on harsh, inhumane trickery. So, yeah, Mr. President, Senator, Congressman. We put you there for this. We pay your salary and Cadillac health benefits for this. Go ahead. Solve this.