On Friday, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz blamed President Barack Obama's administration for the increase in children illegally crossing into the United States.

Cruz told reporters at a Republican fundraiser in Miami that the president's 2012 executive order to defer the deportation of young immigrants brought over by their parents has created an incentive for more youths to illegally cross the border. He called this a "lawless act" that grants "amnesty" and suggested legislation to tighten border security as well as streamline the immigration process, according to Fox News.

Obama on Friday said his administration has a plan that will send a stronger message: that unauthorized migrants will be turned away. CNN reported that the plan includes almost $100 million to help the governments of El Salvador, Guatemala and Ecuador reintegrate the immigrants the United States will be sending back.

The president also spoke about adding more immigration judges to process the backlog of asylum claims, as well as plans to more quickly deport those who are rejected and to open new detention centers for families awaiting hearings.

Photographs of dozens of people, mostly children, in overcrowded conditions sleeping on floor mats with space blankets have been circulating around the Internet for days, again bringing to life the ongoing issue of immigration reform.

The pictures were taken at the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Nogales Placement Center. In Texas and Arizona, centers like this have become overcrowded because of the increase in undocumented child immigrants. These centers are only designed as temporary holding centers, but detainees are staying longer because the federal government is overwhelmed.

Since October, more than 47,000 children have been apprehended at the Mexican border. The Obama administration said more people are coming over because of increasing gang violence in Latin American countries.

Vice President Joe Biden went to Guatemala to meet with Guatemalan President Otto Perez Molina and Salvadoran President Salvador Sanchez Ceren, as well as senior officials from Honduras, to address the dangers of crossing into the United States through Mexico. The New York Times reported that they also spoke of plans to address the crime that is contributing to many people fleeing these countries and coming to the United States.

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