Since 2014, tens of thousands of women and children have flocked to the southern border of the United States from many countries in Central America, bringing with them a continual state of crisis. This abnormal human migration shows that U.S.-driven globalization did not fundamentally bridge the development gap across countries. With global climate change, the gap continues to widen.
No one is displaced from their hometown willingly. But for these refugees, this dangerous road is their only choice. As the most densely populated region in the world, Central America has a highly fragile social ecology. Years of drought and increased tropical hurricanes have led to crop failures, and more people have fallen into extreme poverty, leading to a deterioration of public order. Meanwhile, since the development gap between this area and the surrounding areas is also widening, better working and living conditions — and even opportunities to get rich — seem not far away. Some organizations and individuals have taken advantage of the local people’s anxiety and become organizers of illegal migration, fueling the trend.
The southern U.S. border has seen many tragedies play out. It has also become an important political topic in the country. In the three general elections starting in 2016, the border crisis and illegal immigration have been the focus of partisan debates. Former president Donald Trump and the Republican Party demand tough measures, including building a border wall, repatriating most undocumented immigrants and restricting the right of to live in the U.S. The Democratic Party is more concerned with humanitarian matter in the crisis, such as underage refugees, human trafficking and organized crime.
In addition, conservatives and anti-China forces have seized the opportunity to discredit China. The Heritage Foundation, a conservative think tank, argues that China has taken advantage of the border crisis to infiltrate the United States and that immigrants without a livelihood could be foreign agents. The Hudson Institute sees Chinese social media outlets and new chains of interests behind the new influx of illegal immigrants, as some organizers use digital platforms to distribute advertisements and instructions.
Political elements in the U.S. have produced various analyses and recommended solutions, which don’t change the basic fact that the number of undocumented immigrants continues to grow steadily. Even in 2018, when Trump built a few sections of border wall, dozens of caravans headed for the southern U.S. border. Obviously, if the source of the problem is not addressed, these people will not leave or be scared away.
Compared with the European refugee crisis, which was caused by war, the problem of immigration in the U.S. is more complicated and lasting. The crisis has been the result of climate change, a development gap and the technological revolution combined. It also highlights the difficult situation of increasing numbers of developing countries in today’s world and is likely to become the next shared problem destabilizing the globe. In March, UN Emergency Relief Coordinator Martin Griffiths said the number of internally displaced people had reached a record high, exceeding 70 million, and that all countries need to work together for a solution.
The development gap is the main cause of this crisis. Historically, refugee crises often appear following a round of globalization, and this time is no exception. In recent years, protectionism has risen in the United States and many other Western countries. More populist economic policies have been adopted, widening the North-South gap, as well as the gap within the Americas. Central American countries have suffered the most because they did not catch up with the previous wave of globalization and lost the opportunity to benefit from it.
Climate change and the technological revolution have aggravated the problems wrought by the development gap. Extreme weather events caused by climate change disproportionately affect underdeveloped countries. Some households may lose their life savings in an instant and have to grapple with real survival problems such as famine, infectious diseases and shortages of drinking water. According to UN estimates, by 2050 around 200 million worldwide will be displaced by climate change, and most of them will live in developing countries. With extreme poverty and uncertainty about the future, these countries may easily fall into a vicious cycle of poverty and turbulence.
The new round of scientific and technological revolution involving social media and mobile phones have not played a constructive role. Social media is full of misinformation and disinformation, making it more likely for people in underdeveloped areas to be misled onto dangerous paths. Some criminal organizations are skilled at using social media, the dark web and other technical means to recruit personnel and cover up illegal gains, while governments often lack capacity.
These deep and complex problems reveal how China and the U.S. should approach and solve the refugee crisis, which is the inevitable result of America’s beggar-thy-neighbor policy. Populist economic policies and an economic and trade system based on small groups of countries will only benefit a limited few and create a deeper and more difficult-to-bridge development gap. The clearer the economic boundary created by the U.S. and other developed countries is, the more turbulent its periphery will be — that is, refugees will emerge more frequently.
The key to solving this long-term crisis is not to stop the influx of illegal immigrants but rather to work together in many fields to enhance underdeveloped countries’ resilience against climate change and technological shocks. For example, these countries may be helped to roll out new green energy alternatives, enhance their ability to forecast extreme weather events and provide technical solutions to stop new cybercrimes or to enhance digital governance. China and the United States should explore collaboration opportunities in third countries to avoid a continuous escalation and spread of the crisis.
