Why The White House And Republicans Both Failed To Stop The Border Crisis

WASHINGTON -- Usually, when the entire political world has a collective freakout over an issue, Congress conjures up a legislative response. But we don't live in calm, reasoned times. And immigration reform -- even in bits and pieces -- has proven particularly divisive.

Such was the case this past summer with the flow of undocumented immigrants across America's southern border. Virtually everyone agreed that rush of unaccompanied minors represented a humanitarian and geopolitical crisis, but lawmakers couldn't find a way to address the matter.

In the latest episode of Drinking & Talking, Frank Sharry, founder and executive director of the pro-reform group America's Voice, Doug Heye, communications director for former House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.), Esther Lee, immigration reporter for ThinkProgress, and HuffPost's Elise Foley recount how the border crossings went from an existential crisis to an unaddressed issue. The problem, they conclude, wasn't just that the two parties disagreed with each other -- it was that they had internal disagreements as well.

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE.