The underlined words and phrases have strong negative connotations. How do they support the author’s purpose? They draw attention to the opinion that the United States is not doing enough to help these children.
They show that there is a desperate need for all countries to be willing to help refugees.
They show that the United States has participated in international conventions on how to handle the refugee crisis.
They make it clear that the United States will lose the respect of other nations if it does not help these children.

This question is missing the excerpt. I was able to find the complete question online. The excerpt is the following:

Read the excerpt from "Children of the Drug Wars."

By sending these children away, "you are handing them a death sentence," says José Arnulfo Ochoa Ochoa, an expert in Honduras with World Vision International, a Christian humanitarian aid group. This abrogates international conventions we have signed and undermines our credibility as a humane country. It would be a disgrace if this wealthy nation turned its back on the 52,000 children who have arrived since October, many of them legitimate refugees.

They support the author's purpose because:

A. They draw attention to the opinion that the United States is not doing enough to help these children.

Explanation:

Sonia Nazario, born in 1960, is an American writer winner of the Pulitzer Prize and author of "Children of the Drug Wars."

In the passage we are analyzing here, even without the underlined words, we can see the United States' attitude toward refugee children is being criticized. Yes, there is a refugee crisis, and the author acknowledges that when she mentions the staggering number of 52,000 children who have come to America. However, she also makes it clear that sending them away will end up killing them. Going back to their countries, where drug wars are raging, will do them no good. Also, by doing so, America's reputation will be in jeopardy.

With that in mind, the best option is letter A. They draw attention to the opinion that the United States is not doing enough to help these children.