On Tuesday, July 2, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced that over the weekend, a charter plane repatriated Chinese nationals who were attempting to enter the U.S. illegally, marking the first large-scale deportation activity since 2018.
The DHS did not specify the number of people on the plane, but stated that more repatriation flights will be arranged.
“We will continue to enforce immigration laws by deporting individuals who have no legal basis to stay in the United States,” said DHS Secretary Alejandro N. Mayorkas in a statement.
The statement emphasized that the DHS enforces U.S. immigration laws by imposing strict penalties on individuals without lawful residency reasons, in line with international obligations. The DHS has operated over 120 international repatriation flights to more than 20 countries, including China.
According to the DHS statement, the department regularly collaborates with counterparts across the Western Hemisphere and worldwide to facilitate the repatriation of nationals with no legal basis to remain in the U.S., as well as implement measures to reduce illegal immigration, promote secure, legal, and orderly pathways, and combat transnational crime networks that exploit the U.S. trade and travel systems, trafficking, and exploiting vulnerable populations.
On the other hand, due to the ongoing deterioration of U.S.-China relations, it has become increasingly difficult for Chinese nationals to obtain U.S. visas. Combined with China’s “zero-COVID” lockdown measures during the pandemic and intensified domestic scrutiny, which has impacted the Chinese economy, a significant number of Chinese citizens have fled China. This has led to a sharp increase in the number of Chinese nationals illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.
According to U.S. government data, as of May this year, nearly 56,000 Chinese immigrants were detected entering entry ports along the U.S.-Mexico southwestern border and the U.S.-Canada border during the 2024 fiscal year, surpassing the 52,700 individuals for the entire 2023 fiscal year ending in October.
In 2023, Ecuador became a crucial transit point for tens of thousands of Chinese citizens intending to reach the U.S.-Mexico border. Many ultimately crossed the border into California.
Many Chinese immigrants travel from Ecuador to locations in Tijuana and Southern California, covering a journey of over 3,000 miles through jungles, deserts, cities, and entering San Diego County in the U.S. Most Chinese immigrants surrender themselves to the U.S. Border Patrol and apply for asylum.
Ecuador suspended an agreement with Beijing on June 18 (previously allowing Chinese citizens to visit the South American country visa-free) due to a “worrying” increase in illegal immigration numbers. Analysts suggest that new alternative routes will be found soon, albeit possibly at a higher cost, indicating that Chinese nationals will continue to find ways to reach the U.S.
In an interview with self-media host Jordan Schneider on “China Talk,” U.S. Ambassador to Japan Rahm Emanuel in early April mentioned that the Chinese authorities’ arrests of entrepreneurs have driven them out of China. Entrepreneurship has declined, youth unemployment rates are high, and capital is fleeing abroad.
In a 2023 interview with Gzeromedia, Emanuel stated that both Chinese individuals and capital are fleeing abroad, and the apparent calm in China’s domestic situation is not genuine, referring to it as a “nightmare.”