House, Senate take up contrasting bills to respond to surge in migrants

JUCHITAN, MEXICO - AUGUST 06: Central American immigrants ride north on top of a freight train on August 6, 2013 near Juchitan, Mexico. Thousands of Central American migrants ride the trains, known as 'la bestia', or the beast, during their long and perilous journey through Mexico to reach the U.S. border. Some of the immigrants are robbed and assaulted by gangs who control the train tops, while others fall asleep and tumble down, losing limbs or perishing under the wheels of the trains. Only a fraction of the immigrants who start the journey in Central America will traverse Mexico completely unscathed - and all this before illegally entering the United States and facing the considerable U.S. border security apparatus designed to track, detain and deport them. (Photo by John Moore/Getty Images)

The House and the Senate are taking up bills this week that would provide funding to deal with the surge of migrants from Central America.

But the plans have different priorities and congress faces a tight deadline before heading to August recess in just a few days.

RELATED: Immigration reform: Last minute battle to produce border bill before Congress leaves town

The plans have drawn criticism from across the political spectrum.

“They are looking to spend money on National Guard, on a very small number of immigration judges, and on an increase in detention resources. So it is an enforcement-only approach, where frankly a more rational, common-sense approach is sorely needed," said Ali Noorani of the National Immigration Forum, an advocacy group.

But some conservatives say federal immigration policy sends the wrong message and are urging an end the program known as Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals, or DACA, which offers temporary legal status to some undocumented youth.

“What Congress is talking about doing right now is merely addressing the symptoms and fallout from the border crisis. Things are fluid and all that may change, but unless Congress rolls back and rescinds DACA, we are going to find ourselves in this situation again and again," said Dan Holler of the Heritage Foundation.

For more, we're joined by Southern California Public Radio reporter Leslie Berestein Rojas.