The number of Chinese nationals crossing the US-Mexico border has increased by more than 6,000 per cent.
Chinese nationals entering the United States illegally and stopped by Border Patrol so far this fiscal year has already exceeded 24,000.
According to Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data, in the first six months of fiscal year 2024, which began in October, Border Patrol had caught 24,296 Chinese nationals crossing illegally between ports of entry. That exceeds the 24,125 caught in all of fiscal year 2023.
For comparison, in fiscal 2022, there were just 1,987 apprehensions, and in fiscal 2021 there were just 342. However, that only includes those those entering illegally between ports of entry. Including ports of entry, there have been 41,970 encounters, compared to 52,700 in fiscal 2023.
The amount of Chinese nationals entering the US has already exceeded 24,000
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It comes as acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Patrick Lechleitner told lawmakers this week that China is one of the top three countries he has identified as not doing enough to receive their illegal immigrants.
At a House Appropriations Committee hearing, he was asked by Republican Representative John Rutherford to identify the top countries that are the most difficult to send back their nationals who are being deported from the US.
Lechleitner said: "We've got Bhutan, top of the list there, Cambodia, they've been challenging, the People’s Republic of China, although we’ve had some recent cautiously optimistic progress with the Chinese, so I want to say it’s moving in the right direction there."
Lawmakers and officials have raised concerns about the migrants' potential ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and the movement of fentanyl into the US.
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Acting Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) director Patrick Lechleitner
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It comes as Republicans have called on Biden should reinstate Trump-era policies that sought to deter border crossings and roll back new measures that offer certain migrants ways to enter legally.
Republicans want Biden to restart the Trump-era "remain in Mexico" program, which forced certain non-Mexican migrants to wait in Mexico for the resolution of their US cases.
As a president candidate in 2020, Biden argued the policy forced migrants to wait in dangerous conditions in Mexico. The Biden administration ended the policy in 2021 shortly after he took office.
The Mexican government opposes the program, which would complicate any attempts to restart it. Democrats and immigration rights groups oppose it, too.
Migration has become a key issue in this year's Presidential election
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Meanwhile, China has urged the US not to add fuel to international tensions, and to shoulder the responsibilities as a major country in safeguarding international peace.
It comes as US-China expert Chris Fenton warned countries like Germany are "turning more of a friendlier eye" towards China.
He told GB News: "Well, it's surprising to me that Europe is behind on this particular equation because if you look at how tough the European Union has been, or even the UK on various other technology platforms, I would say they're paving the way and leading by example, in the US is typically behind on that type of regulatory framework.
"This one in particular is a little different. I do think there are a lot of crosswinds in terms of how people look at China and look at Beijing, in both Europe and the United States. Right now, you can see Germany is definitely turning more of a friendlier eye towards China. While it seems the United States is going the opposite way."