DHS Flies Illegal Migrants Back to China

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) deported a large number of undocumented Chinese migrants back to their home country on November 16.
Newsweek understands that 109 Chinese nationals were removed on the charter flight.
It is the third large chartered removal flight to China within six months after more than 100 migrants were returned in June and 131 Chinese nationals were deported in October.
“DHS is enforcing U.S. immigration laws and delivering tough consequences for those who enter unlawfully or without authorization,” according to a statement issued by Homeland Security officials.
“This removal flight is yet another example of the Department’s ongoing cooperation with the PRC [People’s Republic of China] and other international partners to reduce and deter irregular migration through enforcement of immigration law,” the statement reads.
Newsweek has contacted DHS for comment via email.
The June flight was the first major charter flight for deportations since 2018, coordinated with China’s National Immigration Administration. The flight carried 116 Chinese nationals who were deported back to China for living in the U.S. illegally, marking the first significant deportation flight of the year.
It came after outgoing President Joe Biden issued a proclamation to temporarily suspend the entry of undocumented migrants across the southern border.
According to DHS, Border Patrol encounters have dropped by more than 52 percent following the June 4 proclamation.
Over the last year, DHS has removed undocumented citizens from countries such as Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Uzbekistan, India, and China.
More undocumented migrants were removed or returned in the Fiscal Year 2024 than in any year since Fiscal Year 2010, according to DHS.
According to the Pew Research Center, in 2022, approximately 90,000 Chinese nationals entered the U.S., making China the third-largest source of immigrants after Mexico and India.
Human rights groups are concerned with the dangers facing vulnerable ethnic groups such as Uyghurs.
Carolyn Nash, Asia Advocacy Director at Amnesty International USA, told Newsweek: “Amnesty is concerned with the resumption of deportation flights between the U.S. and China. CBP [Customs and Border Protection] does not track ethnicity, leaving authorities no way to confirm whether the U.S. is returning Hongkongers, Uyghurs, or other vulnerable minorities.”
Nash said more Chinese people were coming to the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum. However the CBP One app run by Customs and Border Control, which is meant to allow noncitizens without appropriate documents who wish to enter the U.S. to submit information at land points of entry, lacks Chinese languages. This creates language barriers for Chinese nationals, “forcing” them to enter illegally, according to Amnesty International.
“Under current border policies, the only way for people to seek safety is to wait months for an appointment in the CBP One mobile application. This app is only available in English, Spanish, and Haitian Creole, making it entirely inaccessible for Chinese nationals who speak none of those languages. As a result, they are forced to cross into the U.S. irregularly, with an extraordinarily high risk of danger, crossing through deserts or over border walls,” the organization said.
This story was updated on 11/19/2024 at 10:32 a.m. ET to include the number of Chinese national unerstood to have been removed on the November 16 flight.