Record numbers of people are crossing into the United States, with tens of thousands apprehended each day at the southern border, and the numbers keep climbing. News clips and articles abound, using terms like an immigrant "invasion" and a growing migrant "crisis." The emotions around it all run hot, and reading the comments underneath some of these articles online can be terrifying.

The layers and nuances involved in the current border realities in America are extraordinarily complex. And yet, whenever we publicly turn our attention toward this issue as a nation, our temptation is to run straight to either dangerous oversimplification or thoughtless outrage. Neither option can lead to meaningful change in our current dysfunctional immigration system.