What drove last year's surge in Chinese migrants at the southern border?
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Last year, a record number of Chinese migrants crossed the U.S. southern border without authorization. In search of jobs and freedom from China's heavy-handed pandemic response, they followed paths long walked by migrants from many countries. But here in the U.S. they have come under a different kind of scrutiny, because they hail from America’s biggest geopolitical rival.
Politicians on the right, led by former President Donald Trump, baselessly claim Chinese migrants are spies or drug smugglers, sent by Beijing to harm Americans.
Trump suggested at a rally in May that "military-aged men" are "building a little army in our country."
At the Republican National Convention in July, former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro described migrants crossing the border as "murderers, rapists, human traffickers, terrorists ... Chinese spies."
"Chinese transnational criminal organizations are also ruthlessly exploiting our border's vulnerabilities, fueling the fentanyl crisis that claims thousands of American lives each year," Craig Singleton, a fellow with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies, told a House hearing in May.
None of those claims stands up to scrutiny. Research based on years of federal and local government data shows that unauthorized migrants — from China or elsewhere — do not threaten national security or commit crimes more than other immigrants or people born in the U.S. This June, unauthorized crossings hit the lowest level since 2021, following President Biden's executive actions restricting asylum claims and stepped-up enforcement in Mexico.
"We spend a ton of money and create a lot of fear, but we don't have any good credible evidence [that we should be afraid]," said Rebecca Hester, an associate professor at Virginia Tech who studies migration. "It's good political theater to say 'What if? What if?' and to look like you're hard on crime and hard on immigration. But it's not really helping."
No evidence supports politicians' claims
Many people at the center of these narratives find them perplexing. Among them is Ying, who says she and her husband trekked through the Darién Gap , the treacherous jungle between Panama and Colombia, in search of religious freedom and job opportunities in America. (NPR isn’t using Ying's full name because press reports might draw harassment to her family still in China.)
"The Chinese government can’t be this unsophisticated. Don’t you think it's hilarious?" Ying said on a recent sunny afternoon in the New York City neighborhood of Flushing, Queens.
She was seated among a group of mainly Muslim migrants sharing a meal after Friday prayers: bubbling soup, spiced cold cut meat and vegetables, and plates of cherries and lychee. Some of the women sitting next to her joined in her laughter at the idea, which they were hearing for the first time.
Her skepticism is shared by those who have long worked on and studied national security and immigration.
There's no indication that Chinese migrants are trying to build an army. Even if there are some people with military backgrounds among the migrants, it’s unfair to assume they are here to sabotage, said Wan Yanhai, a longtime AIDS and human rights activist living in New York City. He's been helping new arrivals with, among other things, administrative work needed to settle in the U.S.
Wan worked alongside veterans in China 20 years ago, organizing people infected with AIDS through contaminated blood transfusions to take legal actions or political actions against the government for compensation. They were campaigners against the Chinese state, not agents of it, he said. "These people are pretty, you know, critical in grassroot social organizing," he said.
Other claims don’t add up either. U.S. government data shows most fentanyl is brought to the country by citizens entering legally.
"China is in the [fentanyl] supply chain, but it's not through these people who have been crossing the border recently," said Elina Treyger, researcher for the RAND Corporation.
As for Beijing sending spies into the U.S. disguised as migrants, while no researcher would rule out the possibility completely, they said the likelihood is low.
"Individuals crossing the southern border have a pretty steep climb before they can find themselves in a place where they have the placement and access to really be of much intelligence value" to the Chinese government, said David Viola, a former Navy intelligence officer who studies terrorism at the John Jay College of Criminal Justice.
The difficulties of proving a negative
So what accounts for the persistence of Republicans' claims about Chinese migrants? For one thing, it's difficult to prove that something did not happen.
"Shouldn't the question be 'What is the evidence that unauthorized migrants are a threat?'" said Doug Ligor, a federal immigration lawyer with over a decade of experience who's now a researcher at Rand. "I'm not sure I understand why the migrant community is being asked to prove a negative when those making the claim of the existence of the threat haven't provided any valid studies to show that."
Ligor says there might be more prosaic reasons for the surge of migrants aside from Chinese people struggling to survive their government's pandemic response . For example, it was difficult to get a passport in China during the pandemic.
"That's going to create push factors," he said. "Once those lockdowns are lifted, you know, [that released] basically pent-up migration."
Ultimately, most Chinese migrants are drawn to the U.S. in search of economic opportunities, Ligor said.
While trekking jungles, mountains and desert might evoke military-like resolve, many Chinese migrants describe less dramatic motivations.
Jian Hui is a labor organizer who went to prison in China for fighting for workers' rights. As soon as he got out of jail and managed to get a passport, he embarked on his journey to the U.S., crossing the southern border without authorization.
Jian considered getting a U.S. visa but didn't go through with it. He said if he applied for an American visa in China, "the Chinese government might not let me leave."
And if he applied after getting out of China, Jian said, "it takes forever."
Others said they have no hope of getting a visa at all. Walking through mountains and jungles, even with the possibility of death, became the most viable path.
Anti-migrant rhetoric echoes xenophobic history
Many Chinese migrants are too busy trying to survive in America to notice the narratives about them, said Ju Ma, a leader of the Chinese Muslim community living in New York City. After he saw that some newcomers were sleeping on the streets, he worked with other activists and rented the house where migrants including Ying gathered, letting people stay short-term for free.
"American politicians are verbally abusing the most vulnerable people, using them for political gains," Ma told NPR. He said the way American politicians paint Chinese migrants as threats is akin to how people in the Middle Ages identified witches.
"During the Great Depression, it was Mexican migrants [who] were blamed and there was a period of mass deportation as a result," Hsin said. "During the gold rush, the influx of Chinese migrants was what drove the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act ," an 1882 law that banned immigration of Chinese laborers and barred those living here from becoming citizens.
All this heated political rhetoric feeds into a worst-case scenario that Jian has been turning over in his head. He feels safe in America, but that safety is conditional.
"If war breaks out between China and the U.S.," he said, "just like the Japanese Americans in the second World War, people of Chinese descent could end up in a concentration camp."
To avert that, he said, "we will have to prove that we are on the side of the free world."
No emojis ... sorry but they're all a pet peeve.
And no "feral animal" nonsense, I don't give a damn who you are and what position you hold.
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Hate was all you needed to win, maybe it is still the case and anyhoot it's cheaper than sex.
maybe temu had a sale on available seats inside ship containers...
At the Republican National Convention in July, former Trump White House adviser Peter Navarro described migrants crossing the border as "murderers, rapists, human traffickers, terrorists ... Chinese spies."
He didn't say ALL of them are. It just takes a few. And don't forget the run of the mill criminals, the large number of gang bangers, and the drug runners.
The Chinese migrants are critical of China's heavy-handed reaction to the pandemic? Well, FUCK THOSE CRITICS. Those extreme lockdowns and other necessary guidelines at the beginning SAVED MY LIFE. And I was happy as Hell to have to stay home and get all necessities delivered. Besides the "Blank Paper Protestors" WON the government's approval by NOT imposing strict lockdowns and restrictions when the Omicron variant hit the nation. I caught it, and with the advice of a doctor friend I survived.
I take note of the fact that the article speaks of Chinese Muslims. It was the Chinese Muslims who carried out the train station massacre in Kunming, and the Chinese Muslims who were\are the Uighur separatists, extremists and terrorists in China so as far as I'm concerned if they migrate to the USA more power to them - they represent only less than 1 tenth of the Muslims in China, and the rest are all good citizens, some were my favourite students, and because I love lamb, and some own and run my favourite restaurants and they worship in their mosques freely.
Why the Chinese migrants say they migrated for financial success is a surprise to me since China eradicated abject poverty, making sure that even the poorest have a roof over their heads, good food on the table, decent health care and free education for their children to high school graduation. Chinese people who are smart enough and ambitious enough become millionaires and billionaires - ever heard of Jack Ma? So don't tell me that China cannot possibly be a land of opportunity.
Ever since the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882 it is no surprise how a lot of Americans feel about Chinese people, because IMO they FEAR them, and fear leads to hatred, and the kind of lies being told about them that are told in the article above, but of course criticizing and lying about others is the way to make oneself look better than they'll ever be.
Let me tell you something. I feel safer and live more comfortably in retirement in China than I could possibly live in the USA, or even my home country, Canada. But I am only a guest in China, and I will never give up my Canadian passport.
Morning Buzz..dumb question..if you lose your job in China do they have unemployment benefits etc?
Seems to be a pattern that when asked all the illegals said much the same thing no job and in debt etc..
I think that IS a problem here, and employees don't get some of the benefits that are available in western countries - employers are bastards. For example, when I was teaching at a high school in Zhengzhou my wife had a low-level job stocking shelves in a local grocery, but she got fired with no benefits when she went to her father's funeral in Chongqing. As well, my wife's brother's wife developed breast cancer and had to be hospitalized for a while, so she lost her job as CFO without any compensation. Fortunately my wife's brother has always had a very good job, so they are not going to become much better off than they are now, which isn't so bad - they live in a 3-level home in a gated complex surrounding a golf course and own two cars while supporting their son at a university studying robotics.
Ouch that is rather harsh..we get two days bereavement leave here and can be extended etc if required..and covers all family members up to grand parents etc..
Some companies have long term sick leave eg for people who are battling cancer and that can be up to two years..
Alcoa where I worked had it up to two years on 80% pay but have dropped it back to 1 year now..some people rorted the system no big surprise there...
So if you have no job, no benefits etc what happens to you there? It seems then what the illegals are saying is true that economic wise they are stuffed...geez and they have forked out $10,000 for absolutely nothing..
The only thing they can rely on here is that culturally and traditionally family solidarity is exceptionally strong, and so those without work will still survive with the help of their extended families and be able to keep seeking employment or find something to do that will keep them okay. Problem is that not everyone is WILLING to make certain sacrifices or do what they might consider too menial or unrewarding, but that is no different than anywhere else. Remember that the population in China is much higher than almost every western country so the numbers of those who might be unhappy is enough to appear much greater than it actually is in comparison.
Actually if you look at the names of the CEOs of biggest, most innovative large cap tech companies there are a lot of Chinese names. (Almost all of them are either Chinese, Jewish, or Indian. (Desi Indians, not American Indians).
Many of the earliest Chinese immigrants opened Chinese laundries or restaurants--- but later many became accountants, software engineers, successful traders on Wall St. etc.
I have a nephew in California who married a Chinese-American woman. Before they had kids she was a brilliant accountant, earning a lot of money
Yeah, Kavika, but you're better than they are when it comes to fishing and storytelling.
LOL. This is really funny. I misread Krishna's name, thought it was Kavika. It's time to get a new stronger pair of glasses.
Morning...we have had three boat loads of Chinese roll up here this year..
Each paid $10,000 to the people smugglers in Indonesia and sailed over....and all now reside on Nauru..they were all deported within 24 hours of illegally landing on Australian soil...
Their reasons for leaving were mainly economic and freedom not one mention of religion...all said due to covid they lost their business and now had huge debts and wanted to make money and they couldn't get loans in China.
One had been to Australia on numerous occasions and liked the freedom and country.... I don't think he does now..
None were told or had any idea they would be deported and not allowed to settle here..they were offered a plane ticket and $7,000 to return home...one took it the rest will stay on Nauru never to set foot here or until another country takes them..
They are all in their 30s and many have left their families behind in China so what happens to them now their bread winner has done a runner?
They obviously didn't think of that....and now they pay the price of trying to enter a country illegally and their naivety is rather astonishing for educated people..
I guess that no matter where you are in the world there are going to be people who just don't have the ability to survive no matter what opportunities there could be for them. But if that's their problem, no matter where they go life is not going to be better for them, because, there are as many opportunities to be comfortable in China as anywhere else but it might actually take a bit of effort for that to happen, because believe it or not, the streets are not paved with gold elsewhere.
According to Statista...
A friend of mine lives in NYC. She told me there is a zip code on the Upper East Side (a very upscale neighbourhood). that has an extremely small permanent population. Why? Because there are so many luxury buildings that have so many apartments that are vacant most of the year.
The apartments are owned by wealthy foreigners who own several residences worldwide. They only live in their NYC residences for a small part of the year. Many of these people are foreigners-- a lot are very wealthy Chinese, or from the oil rich Middle eastern countries.
A while back I heard that these wealthy foreigners often sent their kids to universities in the U.S or Canada.-- and the kids often stayed in their parents' luxury apartments or houses in various parts of the U.S. where they were going to college.
I live in far Northeast Bronx, which is a NEBRO Neighborhood.
Contrary to negative images of 70s Blacksploitation Movies, Pelham Bay is now very upscale. There are tons of doctors and other medical professionals in the area because the Montefiore and Jacobi Medical Centers and The Albert Einstein School of Medicine are clustered together in the far northeastern Bronx.
The homes lining Pelham Parkway go for millions of dollars.
You can throw a rock to New Rochelle - Rochester from here!
The young daughter of my doctor friend here, whom I gave private English lessons to before the pandemic, is going to a private high school in Ontario, in Burlington, which is next to where I used to spend my summer vacations as a young kid at my grandmother's summer cottage.
Just read up about Nauru. It doesn't seem to be a place where I'd like to live.
Nope..that will be a pass for me as well..
They are here illegally, period. They are breaking our laws by being here, period. They are taking resources away from US citizens.
They need to all go.
Not just the Chinese illegal immigrants; but every last illegal immigrant in the US.
Come here the correct way; or don't come here at all.