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Why Thousands of Chinese Cross Mexican Borders to Reach America

Eugene Park Views  

Chinese Immigrants Increasing at the Fastest Rate
Business Thrives in Transit Point Ecuador, Quito
Government Repression Intensifies After Xi Jinping’s Ascendancy
Economic Crisis Continues Due to Zero-Covid and Real Estate Crisis

On December 28 last year, thousands formed a long line in Escuintla, Mexico, walking towards the U.S. border. Escuintla(Mexico)/EPA-Yonhap News

CNN reported on the 8th (local time) that the number of Chinese people leaving China due to the ongoing economic crisis and attempting illegal immigration to the U.S. is rapidly increasing.

U.S. government data shows that over 31,000 Chinese nationals crossed into the U.S. through the Mexican border from January to November last year, leading to their arrest by authorities. This figure represents a 20-fold increase from the average annual detection of about 1,500 cases over the past decade. While the number of Chinese illegal immigrants is smaller compared to those from countries close to Mexico, such as Venezuela and Guatemala, CNN emphasizes that the growth rate of Chinese immigrants entering the U.S. illegally is currently the highest.

Most people fleeing China by land pass through Quito, Ecuador. In 2022, about 13,000 Chinese entered Ecuador, which increased to 45,000 from January to November last year. As more Chinese visit Ecuador, businesses such as accommodations and hospitals targeting them are thriving. A Chinese travel agency employee who immigrated from China to Quito five years ago told CNN, “Businesses related to immigration are growing more and more along the outskirts of Quito.”

The background to the acceleration of leaving China is the intensified repression of the Chinese government after Xi Jinping’s ascendancy. According to the UN, the number of Chinese applying for political asylum increased significantly from about 25,000 in 2013 to more than 120,000 from January to June last year. About 13% of immigrants granted asylum in the U.S. in 2022 were Chinese.

The fact that the economic situation is not improving also prompted Chinese immigration. Many Chinese lost their jobs due to the high-intensity Zero-Covid policy that has been maintained for nearly three years since 2020. After the pandemic, the real estate market crisis and local government debt problems hit China. In June last year, China’s youth unemployment rate hit a record high of 21.3%, after which the Chinese government temporarily suspended the announcement of the youth unemployment rate.

Victor Shih, director of the 21st Century China Center at the University of California, San Diego campus, said, “It’s shocking that so many people are embarking on a dangerous journey to South America and the U.S. even when China is politically very stable. This suggests that many Chinese are in economically difficult situations.”

By. Ah Hyeon Jeon

Eugene Park
content@www.kangnamtimes.com

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