
In a statement released on Tuesday, the Department of Homeland Security reported that a group of migrants returned to China over the weekend on the first such charter aircraft there since 2018.
The agency declined to disclose the number of migrants on the weekend flight, but the Associated Press said that 116 were on board. The government did, however, state that it was collaborating with Beijing authorities on additional removal flights.
Ahead of November’s presidential election, the White House has been progressively tougher on immigration, which is reflected in Tuesday’s declaration. Last month, President Joe Biden temporarily halted some types of entrance across the southern border of the United States.
Since the ban, 120 international repatriation flights have been conducted, according to the DHS.
“We’ll keep up the enforcement of our immigration rules and remove anyone who doesn’t have the proper documentation to be in the country. The message paraphrased Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas as saying, “Smugglers’ falsehoods should not be believed by the public.”
Although the decision to allow the individuals to return was planned for several months, Beijing’s acceptance of their return represents a sudden shift in policy.
In April, Mayorkas told NBC News that the United States was holding high-level talks with China’s officials to increase the number of Chinese nationals being deported from the country, despite China’s long-standing opposition to repatriating migrants. At the time, he stated, “We are cooperating with our counterparts, but for the time being, we are waiting.” “There is a procedure.”
The flight from last week and the possibility of additional removals come as the southern border has seen a surge in illegal migration. The four nations closest to the border—Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador—accounted for nine out of ten illegal immigrants entering the country through the south before the Covid-19 outbreak, but as of last year, most of them were from other countries.
Over 50 nationalities experienced a hundredfold increase in apprehensions between 2019 and 2023. During the same time period, there was a sharp increase in migration from larger economies. China and India had increases in migration of almost eleven and five times, respectively.
Networks of intercontinental smugglers have contributed to the increase in travel from those locations. Even though those activities have been around for decades, they have recently expanded greatly in both size and scope.
Nicknamed “snakeheads,” Chinese smugglers have capitalized on the growth of the internet and the widespread use of low-cost smartphones, much like their foreign counterparts. Smugglers heavily promote their services on major social media platforms in the country they are targeting, such as WeChat, WhatsApp, TikTok, and others.
NBC News was able to access the WeChat profile of a Chinese snakehead in May of this year, who claimed to have relocated more than 100 people to the United States the year before. He frequently uploads footage of migrants traveling in an effort to draw in new clients.
Homeland Security utilized its statement to applaud Ecuador’s recent declaration that visiting Chinese passport holders will soon need to obtain visas, as part of its ongoing assault on people smugglers. The nation has long been a favored route for traffickers.