New Delhi: President Donald Trump said he is "100 per cent" prepared to close down the US-Mexico border, urging Congress and Central American governments to take action to stop the illegal immigrants from entering the United States from its southern border with Mexico. American President said if Mexico does not stop migrants from transiting across its territory, and if Congress does not act, the border's going to be closed, 100 per cent. “Congress has to meet quickly and make a deal. I could do it in 45 minutes. We need to get rid of chain migration,” said Trump. "It is a national emergency on the border," he added.

Trump went on to add that the present immigration system is the 'dumbest in the world', however, “The Democrats don't want to change it because they don't want to give Republicans a victory."

Delays were already rising at several key border crossings as Trump ratcheted up pressure on Democrats in Congress to toughen US laws against illegal immigrants, threatening to hurt the US economy in the name of border security.

Economic impact of closing the border

The threat to close the border, which handled some $612 billion worth of trade in 2018, sent shivers through the economy, and drew warnings from allies of the president. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, "Closing down the border would have potentially catastrophic economic impact on our country, and I would hope we would not be doing that sort of thing." His call was backed by the Chamber of Commerce, which said in a statement that while it backed immigration reform, closing the border "would inflict severe economic harm on American families, workers, farmers and manufacturers across the United States."

Homeland Security officials said they were preparing for the possibility of a shutdown of at least some border entry points as they divert staff to deal with the flood of migrants from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, expected to hit nearly 100,000 a month.

Officials said facilities for handling the migrants -- who for the moment cannot be sent back after they cross the border and request asylum -- are overtaxed and understaffed, creating hazardous conditions.

However, when asked about the severe economic impact of closing the border, Trump said, "Security is more important to me than trade." "We'll have a strong border or we'll have a closed border," the President noted.

(With inputs from agencies)