Editor's Note: Shuriah Niazi is an award-winning journalist based in India with experience in covering a broad spectrum of social issues for a variety of media outlets. The article reflects the author's opinion, and not necessarily the views of CGTN.

U.S. President Donald Trump holds a hard stance on the issue of migration, and has been criticized within the country for how he's dealing with migrants from Central America. Trump has also criticized weak U.S. border laws that he says leave the country exposed to unregulated immigration, but some of his policies could worsen the Central American migrant crisis.

The U.S. president wants to send the message that undocumented immigrants cannot continue to live with impunity in the country. As such, the Trump administration has adhered to an uncompromising policy to arrest and ultimately deport immigrants, including non-criminal ones. 

He has also changed the rules to deport more non-criminal migrants, so that the U.S. government has deported a large number of people who have lived peacefully in the country for decades, checked in regularly with immigration officials and posed no threat to public safety.

The policy issues over which Republicans and Democrats continue to differ include whether to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border and how to deal with illegal immigrants living in America. Many experts as well as Democrats generally do not see non-criminal migrants as a burden on the country and argue that deporting those who have family members here who are U.S. citizens, including school-aged children, is wrong and inhumane. Activists say these migrants are America's strength and they contribute positively in the country's growth.

While the world observes International Migrants Day on December 18 in accordance with Resolution 55/93 of the UN General Assembly, adopted on December 18, 2000, the United States is staring at partial shutdown due to White House's insistence that Congress provide 5 billion U.S. dollars to build a wall along the US-Mexico border. 

But the White House is adamant about building the wall as its senior adviser Stephen Miller said the government would do whatever was necessary to build it. Trump needs funds to fulfill his campaign promise to build the wall, but he doesn't have the votes from Congress to support funding at that level. Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer and Republican Nancy Pelosi have proposed no more than 1.6 billion U.S. dollars for fencing upgrades and other border security, but not for the wall.

On Tuesday, December 18, the White House indicated that U.S. President Donald Trump does not want a federal government shutdown over his demand for 5 billion U.S. dollars for a border wall with Mexico, which offered ease to the government. But for Trump's part, he was very cautious and told reporters, "We'll see what happens. It's too early to say. We need border security."

The world counted 258 million international migrants in 2017, representing 3.4 percent of the global population. The migration crisis has invoked international concerns. Facing the threat of death, people have fled troubled nations including Syria, Iraq, and Afghanistan for Europe in the past years as Europe is peaceful, rich and accessible.

This problem demanded a common, coherent EU policy that would have allowed asylum-seekers while also regulating their flow. Instead of a fair distribution of refugees in Europe, only Germany and Sweden were left to deal with the crisis. Germany allowed more people from war-torn countries than the other 27 members of the European Union, the United States and Canada combined did. Predictably, Angela Merkel's humanitarian approach has put strains on Germany. 

There should be a system to identify genuine refugees as many economic migrants with no claim to asylum have also sought and got asylum. No doubt, joint efforts are needed right now to solve the migration crisis.

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