Central American leaders will meet with President Barack Obama Friday to discuss ways to stem the high numbers of unaccompanied immigrant children from crossing into the United States from Central American countries. 

Obama will meet with the presidents of Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala Friday to discuss potential strategies that can be taken to curb the influx of child migrants, The New York Times reports. The meeting comes as the Obama administration tries to gain Congress' approval to release $3.7 billion to expand border security, increase the number of immigration judges to ensure speedy trials and care for high numbers of unaccompanied children who have crossed into the U.S.

Around 57,000 unaccompanied children have come to the United States since last autumn, becoming a full-blown humanitarian border crisis and political conundrum for President Obama. 

Last Friday, White House officials said there is some evidence that the number of child migrants coming into the U.S. may be declining. Officials said that the average number of children crossing the border every day declined in mid-June from 283 per day to 120 per day. 

However, Stacie Blake, the Director of Government and Community Relations at the U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, told Latin Post that the decline in the average number of children crossing the border is not indicative of a permanent decline in the surge in child immigrants. 

"We are seeing reports of a decline for this month and that is what we have seen the last several years with regard to July and August," she said. "We understand that summer temperatures over 110 in the desert are the real factor, not a decline in need.  As in previous years, we expect a return to higher numbers after August."

The children are traveling to the U.S. to flee crippled economies and ubiquitous gang violence in their home countries. 

White House press secretary Josh Earnest told The NYT that the leaders will discuss ways to "promote safe, legal and orderly migration between our countries in a spirit of shared responsibility, including with respect to the return of family units, which began this week for all three countries."

The discussions could prove difficult for Obama, who previously said that child migrants who do not have legitimate humanitarian concerns will be processed and sent back to their countries of origin. 

The three presidents--Juan Orlando Hernández of Honduras, Otto Pérez Molina of Guatemala and Salvador Sánchez Cerén of El Salvador--have previously told the U.S. that they would implement tactics to prevent more immigrants from traveling into the U.S. The three leaders told Vice President Joe Biden in early July that the countries would work in tandem with the U.S. to secure their countries' borders.

While Obama and Biden are trying to seek solutions to the crisis, Democrats in Congress also do not want to violate the rights of children who are seeking asylum from violent environments. 

After a meeting with Hispanic lawmakers, Obama said he would not undermine the children's right to due process. However, officials from the administration said they seek to persuade Congress to allow their cases to be processed faster. 

Congress will soon leave for summer recess, and it is not yet clear whether they will approve Obama's proposals before the recess. 

Blake of USCRI said the request for billions from Congress to address the crisis includes funding for legal representation for the children. 

"This is important because recent reports indicate a 90% or more attendance rate at immigration court proceedings when the children have lawyers," she said.

"We have spoken to many who understand the importance of providing this emergency funding, because it is an emergency, and then addressing the policy questions that can improve the situation at the border and within a regional context," she continued. "We must stay focused on the reality that we are talking about children fleeing for their lives."

But she also said that the crisis begins in the Central American nations.

"The emergency at our border is a crisis within these countries and they may need help to stem the escalating violence that makes their countries so dangerous," she added. 

Obama will reportedly tell Central American presidents that the crisis cannot be solved without their help. 

The impending meeting will have two functions: to pressure Congress to pass the funding, and to implement the legal changes that Obama is requesting. 

"A big part of this is sending a message to Congress that the president is going to work with Central American countries to get something done here," a White House official said. "Congress should take note of the fact that the president is very serious about this issue."

Blake said that one proposed change that should not occur is the rolling back of the protections of the TVPRA Act of 2008. 

"Because more children need the protection is not reason to cut it back," she said. "This Act had full bipartisan support and was signed by President George Bush."

She also spoke of a few other solutions, including letting the Hondurans and El Salvadorans who have legal Temporary Protected Status to apply for their minor children, which would reduce immigration court backlogs and apply to up to 40 percent of the children. 

Additionally, she said that in-country processing could be used "to let children apply for refugee status which would protect them from the dangerous journey and allow other countries to more easily assist; [and] involve the UN Refugee Agency so children can receive international protection and possibly be resettled in the US."

Despite the obstacles faced, she is hopeful that the U.S. can effectively address the immigration crisis. 

"The U.S. has a history of solving challenging migration problems (Cubans, Haitians, Vietnamese, etc.), and we can address this one too."