The Biden Department of Homeland Security announced Tuesday that it has conducted a large-scale deportation flight of Chinese nationals for the first time in six years.
The flight, which was carried out by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), follows a massive surge of Chinese illegal migrants pouring across the U.S. Border. The Biden administration did not specify how many Chinese nationals were on the flight, but the announcement marks a possible turning point between the two nations, as the Chinese Communist government has dragged its feet on accepting deportees over the years. (RELATED: White House Signs Deal With Panama To Crack Down On Major Illegal Immigration Route To US)
“We will continue to enforce our immigration laws and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a Tuesday statement. “People should not believe the lies of smugglers.”
The repatriation flight was conducted in “close coordination” with China’s National Immigration Administration, according to DHS. The Biden administration says it will keep working with the Chinese government’s Ministry of Public Security and National Immigration Administration on more deportation flights in the future.
JACUMBA, CA – November 11: Chinese Migrants attempting to cross in to the U.S. from Mexico are detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the border November 11, 2023 in Jacumba, California. (Photo by Nick Ut/Getty Images)
“This removal flight is the result of Secretary Mayorkas’ continued efforts to engage the PRC on areas of mutual interest,” the DHS announcement reads. “Together, the United States and PRC are working to reduce and deter irregular migration and to disrupt illicit human smuggling through expanded law enforcement efforts.”
The major deportation flight follows record-setting illegal migration by Chinese nationals at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Border Patrol agents have encountered more than 57,000 Chinese nationals illegally entering the U.S. under the Biden administration, according to the latest data by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The illegal migration of Chinese nationals became significant in fiscal year 2023, when more than 24,000 Chinese migrants were encountered by Border Patrol agents, a more than 1,000% increase from the 1,987 Chinese migrants encountered by Border Patrol in fiscal year 2022.
Illegal migration from China is further complicated by the fact the Chinese government, in large part, refuses to cooperate on accepting deportees.
China has been listed as a “recalcitrant” country, meaning its government has been “uncooperative” in accepting the return of its citizens in a timely manner, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service. In 2020, China was among only 13 other countries the U.S. government designated as recalcitrant nations for its refusal to accept deportees.
The communist nation has in the past used the deportation issue as a diplomatic maneuver, with the Chinese government declaring in 2022 that it would not accept any return of its citizens as retaliation for then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s to Taiwan.
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