Why Chinese migrants cross US southern border in growing numbers
It’s a bright, windy day in early April, and 71 unauthorized migrants are milling about a desolate patch of dirt in the California desert, waiting to turn themselves in to the U.S. Border Patrol.
They crossed from Mexico, over a mountain where there is no fence. But you won’t hear a word of Spanish from this group. Almost all of them speak Chinese.
They are a trio of jovial young bachelors – a pastry chef, an engineering student, and a hairstylist. They are families with small children, street vendors, wheat farmers. They come from all over China, and their routes vary. Some flew easily via third countries, like Ecuador, that don’t require a visa. Others spent exhausting weeks traveling by plane, boat, and bus, and on foot, through the perilous Darién Gap.
It’s a diverse group, but they have this in common: They are participants in a spike in illegal Chinese migration at the U.S.-Mexico border. In fiscal year 2021, Border Patrol encountered 330mainland Chinese migrants between official ports of entry on the U.S. side of the border. In 2023, that number soared to 24,050. This year, encounters are on track to reach 60,000.
