1300 Percent Spike: Illegal Chinese Immigrants Arrested

A big jump in the number of illegal Chinese immigrants heading into the U.S. From January to September, Border Patrol arrested over 20,000 illegal Chinese immigrants arriving through the border. The total is almost 13 times more than the same time last year. A volunteer serving hot oatmeal to the border crossers said one thing caught his eye: “We’re used to seeing border crossers here- Central Americans, Mexicans, trying to avoid the Border Patrol. And here we have this giant mass of Asians coming in saying ‘Please, please arrest me. Where’s the guy who’s gonna arrest me?’ It’s very unusual for this area,” Samuel Schultz, a local volunteer, said. Some of them say they hope to escape the repressive political climate and the bleak economic prospects at home. “The government was oppressing us and trying to collect our land at a really low price. Then they asked a bunch of gang members and their staff to beat us up and have conflicts,” Chen Yixiao, a Chinese migrant, said. For authorities, gauging who truly needs protection can be a touchy subject. Lawmakers said over ninety percent of the illegal Chinese immigrants in 2023 are single adults. Officials are concerned they could engage in espionage activities.