Chinese nationals are the second largest group of migrants crossing the border at San Diego, after Colombians, with 21,000 encounters since October. A new report shows that the number of Chinese asylum seekers has soared since fiscal 2021, surpassing the number of Mexicans in recent months.
US Customs and Border Protection data reveals that 21,000 Chinese nationals were encountered in the San Diego Sector since the start of the fiscal year, compared to 18,700 Mexicans and 28,000 Colombians. Other countries of origin include Ecuador, Guatemala, Turkey, Guinea, and Peru, showing the global scale of migration at the US-Mexico border, a Daily Mail report said.
The number of Chinese citizens apprehended by Border Patrol at the southern border increased more than 10 times from 1,970 in fiscal 2022 to 24,048 in fiscal 2023. The surge of Chinese nationals fleeing to the US is driven by their high success rate with asylum claims, as well as their dissatisfaction with China’s pandemic response and economic situation. Many Chinese citizens fly to Ecuador without a visa and then take the perilous 3,000 mile journey through the Darien Gap to reach the US, a route known in Chinese as walk the line, or ‘zouxian.’
“This wave of emigration reflects despair toward China,” said Cai Xia, editor-in-chief of the online commentary site of Yibao and a former professor at the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. “They’ve lost hope for the future of the country,” said Cai, who now lives in the US. “You see among them the educated and the uneducated, white-collar workers, as well as small business owners, and those from well-off families.”
However, some officials are worried about the national security implications of the influx of Chinese migrants, suspecting that some of them may have ulterior motives. Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Good of the Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector said his agents were “trying their best to figure out why individuals from other continents are coming” but that ‘information can be hidden’ and ‘their agendas, their ideologies, the reason for them coming could be missed’.
Chinese migrants have the highest rate of successful asylum claims in the US, according to government data. Gloria Chavez, chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector, also told the committee that the huge increase in Chinese migrants had required her agents to use a translation service, with each Chinese national taking up to seven hours to interview. The interviews were shared with the committee. Some officials have expressed concerns about national security, claiming that some Chinese nationals have been found to be affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army and the Chinese Communist Party.
The migrants are heading to the west coast, especially California, where they may settle down. Border Congressman Tony Gonzales said that the Sinaloa Cartel runs the operation and directs Chinese migrants towards the California/Arizona corridor, where there is a large Asian American community, the Daily Mail report said.
(With input from agencies)
US Customs and Border Protection data reveals that 21,000 Chinese nationals were encountered in the San Diego Sector since the start of the fiscal year, compared to 18,700 Mexicans and 28,000 Colombians. Other countries of origin include Ecuador, Guatemala, Turkey, Guinea, and Peru, showing the global scale of migration at the US-Mexico border, a Daily Mail report said.
The number of Chinese citizens apprehended by Border Patrol at the southern border increased more than 10 times from 1,970 in fiscal 2022 to 24,048 in fiscal 2023. The surge of Chinese nationals fleeing to the US is driven by their high success rate with asylum claims, as well as their dissatisfaction with China’s pandemic response and economic situation. Many Chinese citizens fly to Ecuador without a visa and then take the perilous 3,000 mile journey through the Darien Gap to reach the US, a route known in Chinese as walk the line, or ‘zouxian.’
“This wave of emigration reflects despair toward China,” said Cai Xia, editor-in-chief of the online commentary site of Yibao and a former professor at the Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party in Beijing. “They’ve lost hope for the future of the country,” said Cai, who now lives in the US. “You see among them the educated and the uneducated, white-collar workers, as well as small business owners, and those from well-off families.”
However, some officials are worried about the national security implications of the influx of Chinese migrants, suspecting that some of them may have ulterior motives. Chief Patrol Agent Anthony Good of the Border Patrol’s El Paso Sector said his agents were “trying their best to figure out why individuals from other continents are coming” but that ‘information can be hidden’ and ‘their agendas, their ideologies, the reason for them coming could be missed’.
Chinese migrants have the highest rate of successful asylum claims in the US, according to government data. Gloria Chavez, chief patrol agent for the Border Patrol’s Rio Grande Valley Sector, also told the committee that the huge increase in Chinese migrants had required her agents to use a translation service, with each Chinese national taking up to seven hours to interview. The interviews were shared with the committee. Some officials have expressed concerns about national security, claiming that some Chinese nationals have been found to be affiliated with the People’s Liberation Army and the Chinese Communist Party.
The migrants are heading to the west coast, especially California, where they may settle down. Border Congressman Tony Gonzales said that the Sinaloa Cartel runs the operation and directs Chinese migrants towards the California/Arizona corridor, where there is a large Asian American community, the Daily Mail report said.
(With input from agencies)