- 03 Apr 2023 15:12
#15270379
Twice as many Chinese illegal immigrants have crossed the U.S. border in 2023 after just THREE MONTHS as in all of 2022, according to official data
More in the Guardian: Growing numbers of Chinese citizens set their sights on the US – via the deadly Darién Gap
Chinese nationals are arriving at the southern border (of the U.S.) in unprecedented numbers, according to federal statistics, after Beijing lifted COVID travel restrictions.
Already this year some 4293 Chinese migrants have been apprehended at the border.
That is more than double the 2022 total of 1987, according to data published by the Customs and Border Protection agency of the Department of Homeland Security.
And it shows that the total number this year will far surpass the record of 2439 in 2016.
Overall, it adds to examples of people from thousands of miles away are arriving at the southern border in the hope of entering the U.S.
And, in the case of China, it suggests a backlash to President Xi Jinping's domestic policies.
Republicans said it showed that the U.S. was seen as a soft touch
'So the word is out, right?,' Rep. Vicente Gonzalez, D-Texas, told Axios, which was first to report the surge.
'If you can get to our southern border, you have a pretty good shot at getting in, and it has changed the demographics.'
Republicans accuse the Biden administration of operating an open borders policy, and point to a surge in people arriving at the southern border since Joe Biden took office.
His first year saw 1.7 million migrant encounters rising to 2.3 million in 2022.
This year is expected to exceed last year's figure. The first three months of the year brought 900,000 apprehensions at the border.
But after two years of attacks, White House messaging in recent weeks has made clear that officials see a way to turn the tide on two years of attacks.
Officials have homed in on Republican demands to cut budget spending, which they say would inevitably reduce the number of border patrol agents, if the GOP is intent on maintaining money for defense and social security programs.
'The MAGA plan would deny the men and women of Customs and Border Protection the resources they need to secure our borders,' said White House Communications Director Ben LaBolt in a memo earlier this month.
'It would mean less agents and less technology to combat fentanyl trafficking, disrupt criminal organizations, and stop illegal border crossings.'
(Patrickov: the rest of the article snipped because it's not related to Chinese)
More in the Guardian: Growing numbers of Chinese citizens set their sights on the US – via the deadly Darién Gap
On the first day of 2023, Xu was in no mood to celebrate the new year. He had just arrived in the Colombian beach town of Necoclí along with dozens of other Chinese citizens, weary from a two-day bus trip from Ecuador. Their goal was the US via the Darién Gap, a roadless, lawless and extremely dangerous stretch of rainforest connecting South and Central America. He wanted to leave China far behind him.
“After I leave the country [China], I have no plans to go back alive,” says Xu later, speaking to the Guardian in a Necoclí hotel room. “I feel like this country has been deceiving us, persecuting us. I have to do something.”
Necoclí is a tourist spot known among locals for its Caribbean music festivals but it is also a major starting point for migrants heading north to Panama through the jungle. It is the only overland path from south to north America. From Panama they continue through several Central American countries to the Mexico-US border.
It is a route riddled with dangers – from the perils of the jungle’s fast-running rivers and deadly wildlife, to gangs and criminals operating in the region, but Xu is desperate.
As some compatriots eat a local pastry dedito de queso, the 31-year-old construction worker, who asked to only use a surname, joins others to chant “knock CCP down!”.
O Lord our God arise,
Scatter His enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God, save us all!
Scatter His enemies
And make them fall;
Confound their politics,
Frustrate their knavish tricks,
On Thee our hopes we fix,
God, save us all!
- By Negotiator
- By ingliz