US has held over 55000 illegal Chinese migrants trying to enter from the Mexican border in the past 18 months without visas or proper paperwork. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
The surge in Chinese crossing over to the US without proper VISA or passport has
increased manifold in the recent times.In February 2024 one of the Western
Hemisphere’s busiest migration routes, the Darien Gap, was halted briefly after the
Biden government asked Columbia to do something to stop the flow of migrants headed
to the Jacumba, California border. It was fascinating to know that the biggest group of
people found stranded during the halt were from China. Similarly, in December 2023,
the US Border Police had detained over 6000 Chinese trying to illegally cross the
borders. The rate of Chinese immigrants hoping to cross the US borders has increased
10 times from 2022 to 2023 and is on a fast rise in 2024.
This dramatic rise of Chinese fleeing their country is result of multiple factors such as Xi
Jinping’s high handedness, China’s economic turmoil, religious insecurity, after effects of
zero Covid policy, and unemployment. While the US is in constant state of war with
China on multiple grounds this influx of unwanted Chinese migrants too has its own
cultural and economic implications.
China has a huge population and with the economic instabilityon rise its people feels
squeezed for basic amenities and look to move out of the country. There are also
religious minorities, both Uyghurs and Christians, who constantly feel threatened to live
in China. According to a report from the United States Commission on International
Religious Freedom condition in China continues to worsen as local authorities look to
police religious activities.
The horrible Zero Covid policy has also taken its toll on self-employed middleclass.
People with small businesses failed to thrive financially during the Covid era and later
sold off their assets to manage funds to live an American dream. These migrants were
neither properly educated nor had skills to enter the US through a proper channel and
once the Covid lock down was lifted started heading to the US for greener pastures. The
most recent crisis China is facing is unemployment. The number of graduates in China
has exceeded the available jobs and thus are forced to turn migrants in foreign land.
So the question arises why the Chinese prefer the United States and not the other
countries to illegally migrate. The possible answer is that the Chinese know that other
counties might deport them but the US has a dysfunctional asylum policy enabling them
to easily seek refuge on multiple empathetic grounds. As per an estimate 55% of
Chinese asylum seekers are successful in making their claims, often citing political
oppression and lack of religious freedom in China as motivations. By contrast, only 29%
of Venezuelans seeking asylum in the U.S. have their claim granted, and the number is
even lower for Colombians, at 19%.The success stories of Chinese entering the US through illegal means and getting an asylum is inspiring many others to follow the suit in order to escape a choking Chinese economy.
US authorities have detained over 55,000 Chinese migrants crossing illegally from
Mexico during the past 18 months, primarily in the rugged desert mountains east of San
Diego. The arrival of Chinese on its borders has also become a political and security
concern for the United States. This issue was first highlighted during the Donald Trump’s
regime who openly criticized it and warned the country’s against the host espionage
activities it might bring along, while Democrats, analysts and the migrants themselves
point to China’s unemployment crisis and repressive government.
According to a Post analysis of U.S. immigration court data, currently a high number of
Chinese migrants are residing in the plush area of Queens and have managed to build a
native Chinese-speaking community to helpthe asylum-seeking Chinese with housing
and asylum claims.
Beijing has refused the accept the fact that its derailed economy has forced its people to
migrate to other countries. Instead China has pinned all the blame of human smugglers
who trap Chinese with false promises of better future abroad. Chinese President Xi
Jinping and other Chinese authorities are trying their best to suppress the exodus,
embarrassed by the fact how Chinese take treacherous routes, risking their lives, to
reach the US.
The US elections are close by and the issue of Chinese migrants is red hot. The US
understands that soon this issue would be politicized and may further escalate tensions
between Washington and Beijing.
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