The arduous journey from Tegucigalpa, Honduras to the border city of McAllen, Texas stretches some 1,500 long miles. To walk it at an average pace—without resting—it would take around three weeks. If you manage to make it without succumbing to the elements—the scorching days and the freezing nights—among the dust and cacti are strangers waiting to kidnap, extort, rape, or even murder you.

Now imagine you are a child.

It's a dangerous trip, to put it mildly, but desperate Central American parents are paying thousands of dollars to smugglers to get their children across Mexico and on to a better life in the United States.

In fiscal year 2013, 38,833 children crossed the border into the United States. For fiscal year 2014, the Obama administration expects that number to swell to 90,000, the vast majority of them through Mexico. It's a humanitarian crisis, and it's happening on our borders.