(Bloomberg Opinion) -- The U.S. Senate passed a bipartisan bill to address the border crisis today. The House passed a partisan one yesterday. The president, unsurprisingly, has not been clear about what he will do. Meanwhile, the image of a father and daughter who died trying to cross the Rio Grande seems to have hardened positions on all sides.This is inexcusable. For the sake of expediency as well as decency, the House should pass the Senate’s bill and the president should sign it.It’s true that this crisis didn’t begin under Donald Trump, but the president’s rhetoric has both enflamed the issue and made it more partisan. House Democrats have responded with their own attempts to gain political advantage. Instead of joining the fight — or futilely waiting for the extremists of either party to cool down — Americans should make it clear to their representatives that they need to take immediate action to prevent deaths, improve conditions and (yes) upgrade security at the U.S. southern border.Immigrant deaths both at border crossings and in Immigration and Customs Enforcement detention centers have been unacceptably high for years. Violence in Central America has resulted in a record number of migrants who are children or families, leading to overcrowding of children at facilities that were never designed to house them. U.S. Customs and Border Protection only has data on families since the recent surge in 2013, but the trend is clear:Perhaps surprisingly, the death rate among migrants in detention is well below what it was in the mid-2000s. But the increased number of child detainees, and their deplorable conditions, has rightfully drawn increased scrutiny.The increased death rate at the border is also not new. For about two decades, there has been a bipartisan effort to increase border security. This has led, predictably, to an increase in the number of desperate crossing attempts in more remote and dangerous locations. CBP data show that while apprehensions at the U.S. southern border have fallen drastically since the late 1990s, the death rate at the border is much higher.The question now is what to do about it. The president has used the crisis to support his call for heightened border security and has tried to link funding for the wall to funding for improved facilities. The House’s bill would increase oversight on the CBP and limit funding for ICE detentions. Both sides are are using the crisis to push what they see as essential reforms.But while views on immigration deeply divide America, outrage over the humanitarian crisis does not.Senior members of both parties recognize that there is a crisis at the border. They only have an incentive to solve it, however, if their constituents demand action. The partisan urge to place blame or use a crisis to achieve long-term goals is powerful. But the focus must be on how to end the tragedy at hand.(Updates first paragraph to reflect Senate passage of bill Wednesday.)To contact the author of this story: Karl W. Smith at ksmith602@bloomberg.netTo contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Newman at mnewman43@bloomberg.netThis column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners.Karl W. Smith is a former assistant professor of economics at the University of North Carolina's school of government and founder of the blog Modeled Behavior.For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion©2019 Bloomberg L.P.