The number of Chinese smuggled into the U.S. has increased since the start of Xi Jinping’s third term.

On Oct. 18, a Chinese couple who entered the U.S. illegally wait to board a bus at a transfer center in San Diego, California, under the guidance of border patrol agents. ⓒ AP/Yonhap News

On Oct. 24, in the southernmost border town of Jacumba, California, which borders Mexico, a Chinese immigrant named Chen said, “I’m so happy to be in my favorite country, the United States,” and revealed, “The Chinese government forcibly confiscated our land at an absurdly cheap price. Officials, who behaved like gangsters, even came and beat us.” He added, “It wasn’t easy to get here. I’ve crossed mountains and rivers and accomplished everything,” with a broad smile. Deng, a 28-year-old Chinese man standing next to him, said, “I don’t know what the future holds,” but questioned, “Could it be worse than the past?”

The number of Chinese people entering the U.S. illegally via Central and South America is skyrocketing. According to The New York Times (NYT) and other sources on the 24th, there has been an explosive increase in Chinese people entering the U.S. illegally via Mexico and Ecuador among immigrants heading to the U.S. from Central and South America. These are Chinese people who have chosen a perilous journey through dangerous jungle areas to the U.S., feeling a sense of despair over the oppressive Xi Jinping regime or being in trouble after the harsh COVID-19 pandemic lockdown by the Chinese authorities.

According to the NYT, the number of Chinese people who were arrested while trying to enter the U.S. from Mexico, the main route for illegal immigration to the U.S., exceeded 24,000 in the past year. This is more than the total number over the past decade. The Associated Press (AP) reported that between January and September this year, 22,187 Chinese people were caught by border patrol in the U.S.-Mexico border area, more than 12.7 times the same period last year (1,741). The number of arrests in September (4,010) increased by 70% from the previous month.

The reason why Chinese people risk their lives and choose the long and distant route through Central and South America is because the chances of success are high. Once they reach the border area and confess to border officials and request asylum in the immigration court, most of them succeed. This is because the Chinese authorities do not often repatriate illegal immigrants. According to Syracuse University in the U.S., the U.S. government approved about 67% of Chinese asylum applicants from 2001 to 2021.

On Oct. 24, immigrants who entered the U.S. illegally are walking along the border wall in the border town of Jacumba, at the southern tip of California, bordering Mexico. ⓒ AP/Yonhap News

Their method of illegal immigration is to go to Ecuador via Istanbul, Turkey. Ecuador is one of the few countries in Central and South America that allows Chinese people to enter without a visa. The most common case is that they prepare for the ‘Darien Gap’ journey in earnest after reaching Necocli, a tourist and transportation hub in Colombia, by bus from Ecuador. The cost of illegal immigration is known to be around 300,000 to 400,000 yuan (approximately $47,000 to $63,000).

The Darien Gap is a tropical rainforest area stretching about 60 miles (approximately 100 km) between southern Panama and northern Colombia. It is a notorious jungle area with steep mountains, dense forests, swamps, rapids, poisonous spiders and snakes, heavy rain, and floods. This place, the only land route from South America to North America, is occupied by Colombian drug dealers and is not safe, so it is called the most dangerous wilderness in the world.

In a situation where there are no roads, armed robbers, smugglers, drug organizations, and human trafficking organizations that target them can jump out anywhere when crossing 60 miles. The number of people who die while trying to cross here is dozens every year, and considering cases where bodies are not found or even missing is not recognized, the actual number of deaths is likely much higher.

According to AP, the number of immigrants who crossed the Darien Gap from January to September this year was 308,000, a record high. Among them, Chinese people account for 15,000. This is the fourth largest number, following Venezuela (171,000), Ecuador (40,000), and Haiti (35,000). The number of Chinese people who have crossed here for 12 years from 2010 to 2021 was only 376.

The Guardian in the UK reported that the number of Chinese people who entered Panama through the Darien Gap from Colombia was around 400 in the first half of last year, but the number of Chinese people who crossed here has surged since the second half. The number increased to 377 in November and 695 in December of last year, and surged to 913 in January this year.

On May 11, immigrants from Central and South America are waiting for the border to open in San Ysidro, Baja California, Mexico, bordering the U.S. ⓒ AFP/Yonhap News

One of the main reasons for the increase in illegal immigration of Chinese people to the U.S. is the increasingly authoritarian Xi Jinping regime, which is losing political freedom. According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), the number of people applying for asylum from mainland China last year reached 116,868. This is a whopping 7.6 times increase compared to 15,362 in 2012 when the Xi regime began to take office.

Xu, a 35-year-old former English teacher, emphasized, “The biggest reason for leaving China is the political environment,” and said, “China is suffocating.” Ian Johnson, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, said, “The middle class who feel the political situation is much more dangerous than before are coming to the U.S.,” and pointed out, “They are mobilizing any means to get out of China.”

There are not a few cases where Chinese people who have lost their jobs or failed in business due to the COVID-19 pandemic are trying to illegally enter the U.S. According to Ming Pao in Hong Kong, the Shenzhen Entry-Exit Administration Office in Guangdong Province, China, is arresting dozens of people a day who are trying to illegally enter the U.S. via Central and South America from Hong Kong.

Li, who ran a factory and was engaged in the trade business, raised his voice, saying, “I went bankrupt due to COVID-19 and fell into a mountain of debt. I’m going to earn money in the U.S. to pay off my debts, not running away.” He, who was living comfortably enough to invest his spare money in real estate and stocks before the pandemic, sighed, saying, “When COVID-19 hit, trade was cut off and I had a cash shortage, so I couldn’t run the factory anymore.”

By. Kim Kyu Hwan