The US is facing growing challenges of illegal immigration as more and more Chinese migrants are crossing over to the country through the San Diego border.
Over the years, the US has been dealing with immigration issues at the Mexican border which was mostly used by Mexican nationals. But now, a report has found that more Chinese nationals are taking advantage of it than Mexicans, revealed a NY Post report.
The situation is so dire, that the Border security forces have arrested 21,000 Chinese nationals from a single border checkpoint in California in the last five months (since October). Compared to that, only 18,700 Mexican nationals have been detained.
The southern border near San Diego has become a potential area of security risk for the US as illegal immigrants are pouring in through that area.
According to a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) report, the number of Chinese nationals taking advantage of the US-Mexico border has reached a record high level in the 2023 fiscal year ending in September, as 24,048 illegal immigrants of Chinese origin were arrested.
This is in stark contrast to just 1,970 arrests made in 2022. The number has jumped over 7,000 per cent from 2021 figures when only 323 Chinese nationals were arrested by CBP officials. However, the world was under lockdown and there were travel bans because of the COVID-19 pandemic at that time.
Many experts are speculating that these illegal immigrants crossing over the Mexican border are Chinese spies sent by the Chinese government.
A national security analyst at IRIS Independent Research, Rebecca Grant, told Newsweek that some are coming here for a better life but others are possibly "here to spy and report back at a minimum".
"99% certain that at least a little bit of this is [the] Chinese military infiltrating for reasons harmful to our national security", said Grant.
Earlier in June last year, the chair of the House Homeland Security Committee, Rep. Mark Green (R-Tenn.) raised the issue of Chinese immigrants with a shocking claim that the majority of them are military-age men having ties with the People's Liberation Army or the Chinese Communist Party. This was further confirmed by the statements issued by the president of the National Border Patrol Council, Brandon Judd.
The border crisis issue in the US is volatile as seen by the recent impeachment of Biden's homeland security chief.
How are Chinese nationals crossing over?
Most of these Chinese nationals fly to Ecuador or Mexico and then walk into the US with the help of people smugglers called "coyotes" who identify gaps in the Mexican wall of the border, near Jacumba Hot Springs.
After an hour-long walk across the border, they get into an unofficial camp and wait for the Border Patrol, revealed sources that help with such illegal immigration.
Most of these Chinese nationals are released into the US with a court hearing date after the Border Patrol has processed their asylum claims at processing centres. It usually takes a few days and the Border Patrol regularly picks up immigrants from camps for such processing.
Earlier on Friday, Fox News reporter Bill Melugin tweeted a video of the mass release of illegal immigrants in San Diego City after they arrived in the city in six buses. This comes at a time when Elon Musk retweeted a similar US immigration video by Tucker Carlson
NEW: Mass street releases of migrants who crossed the San Diego sector border illegally are continuing this morning here in San Ysidro, CA. Multiple Border Patrol buses have already arrived. People from all around the world - all planning to travel to cities across the U.S. pic.twitter.com/IyrwjEciY3
— Bill Melugin (@BillMelugin_) February 24, 2024
The Chief Patrol Agent of San Diego Anthony Good of the EL Paso sector has revealed how the authorities are trying to figure out why the Chinese nationals are entering the US but the information is hidden and their agendas, ideologies, and reasons for coming are unknown.
As per a report published by the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), between 2000 to 2022, there were 224 Chinese espionage incidents against the US for military, commercial or political gain. The figures are higher than any other country including Russia if incidents against privately held US companies are counted.
The CSIS report said: "Chinese espionage also created immeasurable damage to national security with the theft of weapons technology, including nuclear weapons test data".
Meanwhile, the FBI has said that the Chinese government aims to be the "world's greatest superpower" by "systematic theft of intellectual property and brazen cyber intrusions". Their target is all levels of American society including academic institutions, US companies and the general public.
