As more migrants reach the country, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it was coordinating with Chinese officials to set up additional aircraft.
On Tuesday, the United States said that it was collaborating with Chinese officials to organize more planes after sending a group of migrants back to China on the first such deportation trip there since 2018.
The Department of Homeland Security claimed that the deportation, which happened on a charter airplane, was carried out over the weekend in cooperation with Chinese officials. The agency attested to the deportation of 116 Chinese nationals.
According to the statement, Chinese and American officials were collaborating on further deportation planes.
The declaration is made in the midst of a heated discussion over border and immigration policies ahead of the November presidential election in the United States. A increasing number of Chinese migrants have entered the United States across its southern border since last year in an attempt to flee political tyranny and poor economic prospects.
Many migrants come north from South America via the sole land route known as the Darién Gap, which crosses the borders of Panama and Colombia. This route has gained popularity on social media. When they reach the southern border, they turn themselves in to American border guards and request asylum, claiming a real fear of being returned to China.
The United States administration declared on Monday that it has inked a deal with Panama to stop the flow of migrants via the Darién Gap. According to the State Department, the United States will finance and train the new flight removal program.
The Chinese government “has carried out international law enforcement cooperation with the immigration law enforcement departments of relevant countries to repatriate people involved in smuggling activities,” according to Liu Pengyu, a spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in Washington. He also said that the government has sent the individuals “to their original places of residence, and pursued their legal responsibility in accordance with the law.”
According to U.S. Customs and Border Protection, more than 24,000 Chinese migrants were briefly held on the country’s southern border during the fiscal year 2023 — more than during the ten years prior combined. Editors’ Selections Why Am I So Angry in the Humidity? Create Something by Hand, Even If It’s Ugly. Shania Twain: a “Legend” in her own right
According to Panamanian immigration officials, Chinese migrants emerged as the fourth largest group entering the United States through that route last year, behind only by Venezuelans, Ecuadoreans, and Haitians.