China’s dramatic increase in illegal immigration is on pace to set records at its southern border, and concerns from the communist country in some areas have already surpassed fiscal year 2021 in just a few days.
U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials told Fox News that 452 Chinese nationals were arrested by Border Patrol agents in the San Diego area alone between Saturday and Monday.
This is more than the 450 people arrested across the Southwest border in fiscal year 2021.
The number of Chinese nationals has been increasing since 2021, increasing to more than 2,000 people across the border in 2022. In 2023, that number has jumped to more than 24,314 people.
Chinese migrants pouring across southern border sparks national security concerns
A Chinese immigrant attempting to enter the United States from Mexico is detained by U.S. Customs and Border Protection at the border in Jacumba, California, on November 11, 2023. (Nick Utt)
Fiscal year 2024, which began in October, has so far seen more than 18,750 encounters by the end of January, meaning the fiscal year is already on track to surpass last year’s numbers. There were approximately 6,000 encounters in December alone.
The rise in immigration from China shows how global the U.S. border crisis has become. Officials previously said they had encountered migrants from more than 150 countries. Fox News witnessed migrants entering the United States from countries including Brazil, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Ecuador and China in San Diego this week.
Chinese people are the fastest growing population of illegal immigrants. Some officials and Republican lawmakers have expressed concern that the entry of single adults from geopolitical rival countries could pose a national security threat.
Chinese migrants speak with Border Patrol agents before being processed after crossing the Rio Grande into the United States on May 5, 2022 in Rome, Texas. (Brandon Bell)
Brandon Judd, president of the National Border Patrol Council, which represents all rank-and-file border agents across the country, told Fox News last week that the majority of Chinese border crossers are single adult men of military age.
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“That’s a very frightening prospect. We know China hates us, and we know we’re in China’s crosshairs,” Judd said.
“And they’re exporting so many people into our country that we really need to be afraid of that.”
A group of Republican senators warned last year that there are “numerous documented cases of Chinese nationals engaging in espionage and stealing military and economic secrets at the direction of the Chinese Communist Party.”
On December 5, 2023, hundreds of migrants, mainly from Venezuela, cross the Rio Grande River. (David Peinado/Anadolu via Getty Images)
The Republican-controlled House impeached Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas over his handling of the immigration crisis. The articles of impeachment will now be heard in the Senate.
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Overall, there were more than 961,000 encounters with immigrants this fiscal year, up from a record 2.4 million in fiscal 2023. In December, the number of cases reached a record high of 301,000, but in January the number plummeted to 176,000.
Fox News’ Aubrie Spady and Michael Dorgan contributed to this report.
