Chinese illegal immigration on pace to break records at US southern border
Officials, lawmakers raise national security concerns about spike in Chinese nationals
By Adam Shaw , Bill Melugin , Griff Jenkins Fox News
Published February 20, 2024 5:29pm EST
A dramatic increase in Chinese illegal immigration is on track to break records at the southern border, with apprehensions from the communist country in one sector alone already eclipsing fiscal 2021 in just a few days.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) sources tell Fox News that between Saturday and Monday there were 452 Chinese nationals apprehended by Border Patrol in the San Diego Sector alone.
That’s more than the 450 apprehended in fiscal 2021 altogether across the entire southwest border.
The number of Chinese nationals has been increasing since fiscal 2021. In fiscal 2022, numbers increased to more than 2,000 border-wide. In fiscal 2023, that number then surged to more than 24,314.
So far in fiscal 2024, which began in October, there have been more than 18,750 encounters by the end of January, meaning that the fiscal year is already on track to exceed last year’s numbers. There were nearly 6,000 encounters in December alone.
The increase in migration from China is an indicator of how global the U.S. border crisis has become. Officials previously said they have encountered migrants from more than 150 countries. Fox News witnessed migrants from countries including Brazil, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ecuador and China crossing into the U.S. at San Diego this week.
Chinese nationals have quickly become the fastest-growing demographic entering the country illegally. Some officials and Republican lawmakers have raised concerns that single adults entering from the geopolitical rival could pose a national security threat.
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https://www.foxnews.com/politics/chinese-illegal-immigration-pace-break-records-us-southern-border
