Chinese Nationals Fastest Growing Group of Border Crossers

Chinese Nationals Fastest Growing Group of Border Crossers

60 Minutes said the somewhat quiet part out loud: Chinese nationals are the fastest-growing group of people crossing the U.S.-Mexico border.

I say somewhat because we have highlighted this news a few times in 2023:

• Biden Border Crisis: Chinese Nationals Flooding Across Our Borders In Record Numbers
• Texas DPS Finds Chinese Nationals, Who Paid Smugglers $35,000 Each, Crossing Border Illegally
• Border Crisis: Encounters Hit 1 Million in FY2023, More Chinese Nationals Crossing Into U.S.

Thanks for joining the party, 60 Minutes.

The Gap

A gap exists on the Southern California-Mexico border near Jacumba Hot Springs, CA, located 60 miles east of San Diego.

Locals named the gap the San Judas Break.

Quite a few of the Chinese nationals come from the middle class. They arrive with roller bags filled with clothes and other items.

One national took 40 days to arrive at the border: Thailand, Morocco, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua.

Many choose to fly to Ecuador since the country “doesn’t require a visa for Chinese nationals” and then to Tijuana.

In Tijuana, the nationals pay smugglers “$400 for the hour-long drive to the gap at the border.”

The nationals know about the gap from TikTok, which also has posts with tips about smugglers and directions.

Where Do They Go?

After processing, the illegal immigrants board a bus to one of three transit centers set up in San Diego.

One center cost $6 million to build. The center sees around 600 illegal immigrants a day, and volunteers help them go to their destinations:

The migrants’ needs vary widely once they arrive at the center.

“Some just need to charge their phone, and they’re self-sufficient. They call an Uber, and they’re gone,” said Kathie Lembo, the CEO of SBCS, a nonprofit organization that helps children, youth and families in San Diego County.

Others need help, including with buying airline tickets. Because some only have cash and not a credit card, SBCS takes the cash — be it, for example, Mexican pesos or Chinese yuans — and purchases the ticket on the organization’s own credit card.

Some need money to make it to their next destination.

“The County of San Diego funded this center, so those are the funds that are utilized if someone needs assistance with airfare,” Lembo said. “We’re real judicious about doing that.”

Lembo does not see her work as enabling migrants to cross the border illegally. Instead, she said, it is necessary work to help the communities in San Diego who are shouldering the influx of migrants. Her organization’s work helps the migrants move onto the next phase of their journey in the United States. Only 0.5% of the migrants who have arrived since mid-October have stayed in San Diego.

However, the U.S. told around 36,000 Chinese illegal immigrants to leave. China won’t allow them to return. The U.S. cannot force China’s hand.

That means in 2023, the U.S. gave 55% of the Chinese illegal immigrants amnesty. Only 14% of those from other countries got amnesty.

The Locals

60 Minutes spoke to Jerry Shuster, 75, who owns land near the gap.

“When they come over here, they come with the suitcases,” Shuster told 60 Minutes. “They come prepared with the computers just like they got off on a Norwegian cruise ship yesterday.”

Shuster, an immigrant from Yugoslavia, said he came to America through the front door. These Chinese illegal immigrants have left a mess on his property, leaving papers, trash, and tents.

Shuster said the crossings by his land began in May when he found Chinese nationals burning his tress to stay warm.

This next part will infuriate you, especially since the feds just stand there and allow the Chinese to cross without any problems:

Sharyn Alfonsi: Have you ever just yelled, “Get outta here?”

Jerry Shuster: Well, they say—I uh – it was, like, four month ago, there was eight guys start– knocking my trees and start burning my– my– my trees on the other side. So I told ’em, “Please, don’t do that. Please don’t do–” and they start surrounding me. I went home, and I got my gun, and I shoot in the air. They arrest me.

Sharyn Alfonsi: They arrested you?

Jerry Shuster: Yeah, they arrest me.

Sharyn Alfonsi: On your property?

Jerry Shuster: Yeah, on my property. Yeah, just because. I ask ’em not to burn the trees, not to knock the fences. And they– they arrested me. They put me in a police car. I’m just protecting my own land.

Shuster wasn’t charged – but his gun was confiscated.

The border patrol claims the agents cannot stop anyone from crossing any gaps until they enter the country illegally.

Donations tax deductible
to the full extent allowed by law.