In the past year, Chinese businessman Li Xiaosan (pinyin) crossed Central America with his teenage son, covering a distance of 5,000 kilometers (3,107 miles) to reach the United States.
During their journey, they were robbed at gunpoint in Colombia, with all their valuables taken. In Panama, they traversed treacherous jungles and swamps, and faced a hazardous 12-hour sea voyage in Mexico.
During the Chinese New Year this year, Li Xiaosan and his son had a tearful video chat with their family back in mainland China. Li’s son was in tears, to which Li comforted him by saying, “Freedom is not free.”
According to reports by Peninsula Television, over the past few years, tens of thousands of middle-class Chinese citizens have crossed the Americas, trekking thousands of kilometers to reach the southern border of the United States in hopes of entering. Li and his son were among over 37,000 Chinese citizens arrested for illegally crossing the southern U.S. border in 2023.
“The political and economic situation in this country (Communist China) is dark,” Li told Peninsula Television, expressing that people there live without hope.
Born in poverty in Henan, China, Li Xiaosan graduated from a university, started his own business, and became a wealthy middle-class individual with multiple properties. However, the Communist Party’s zero-COVID policy destroyed his business, and his outspoken nature drew the attention of Communist police.
The collapse of the Chinese real estate market and stock market is impacting the wealth of middle-class families. Moreover, the Chinese government’s increased control over various aspects of people’s lives, from censoring internet speech to media scrutiny, is fueling discontent among the populace. Many are losing faith in China’s future and seeking an exit strategy.
For the middle class, leaving behind everything they have in China – jobs, properties, family, and connections – requires great determination. After arriving in the U.S., Li Xiaosan told Peninsula Television, “I have nothing in America, but I can enjoy freedom of speech here.”
“I can say whatever I want without fearing police harassment,” he added.
The choice to immigrate to the U.S. for the Chinese middle class is limited. Wealthier individuals can opt for investment immigration, but those less affluent struggle to obtain U.S. visas. Last year, the rejection rate for Chinese citizens applying for U.S. tourist and business visas was 27%, higher than pre-pandemic levels. Therefore, some middle-class individuals choose the underground route to enter the U.S.
Data from the U.S. government shows that as of May this year, nearly 56,000 Chinese immigrants were detected entering the U.S. through the southwestern border with Mexico and the northern border with Canada in the 2024 fiscal year, surpassing the total of 52,700 for the entire 2023 fiscal year ending in October.
From January to May this year, approximately 10,171 Chinese immigrants crossed the Darién Gap in Panama, a perilous 60-mile stretch connecting South America and Central America. In contrast, Panama’s immigrant data shows that the total number of immigrants for the whole of 2023 was 25,565, with a cumulative total of 2,381 from 2010 to 2022. Chinese citizens were the fourth largest group to reach the province from Colombia in 2024.
Many Chinese individuals choosing to enter the U.S. through this route, like Li Xiaosan, are middle-class. Immigration lawyer Erika Pinheiro once told the New York Post, “The Chinese individuals I encountered at the border in San Diego, California, are either from the upper-middle class in China or at least from the middle class.”
In 2023, Ecuador had become a crucial transit point for tens of thousands of Chinese citizens intending to reach the U.S.-Mexico border. Many eventually crossed the border into California.
Many Chinese immigrants travel from Ecuador to Tijuana and other locations in southern California, a journey spanning over 3,000 miles that involves crossing jungles, deserts, cities, and entering San Diego County in the U.S. Most Chinese immigrants voluntarily surrender to U.S. Border Patrol and seek asylum.
Ecuador announced on June 18th the suspension of an agreement with Beijing (which allowed Chinese citizens to enter this South American country without a visa) due to the “worrying” increase in illegal immigrants. However, analysts believe that new alternative routes will soon be found, albeit possibly at increased cost, as Chinese individuals will continue to seek paths to America.
Peninsula Television reported another Chinese individual, Vincent Wang, who is waiting in Mexico for a refugee appointment to enter the U.S.
Mr. Wang previously ran a hotel in Dali, China, and like Li Xiaosan, his business was devastated by China’s strict policies during the pandemic. With the bleak post-lockdown Chinese economy, Wang sees no future for himself in China anymore and hopes to gain some freedom in the latter part of his life.
Earlier this year, he flew to Ecuador and then headed to the U.S. While waiting in Mexico City, he expressed his willingness to live frugally and undertake hard work if granted asylum in America.
“To be honest, I know the U.S. is not paradise, but I know where hell is,” he said. “I have to leave there.”