On February 7th, a New York law firm received astonishing news from the US border immigration authorities – their clients who had been granted parole were intercepted by the immigration authorities at the last minute and were not released.
Manager Wang of the “Qin Susan Law Firm” in New York informed our publication that three clients who entered the US were detained in different states’ immigration prisons. The law firm had successfully applied for parole for the three individuals recently, and all applications were approved. However, an unexpected incident occurred on the 7th.
“The clients’ families had already booked airplane tickets, but they were stopped at the prison gates.” Manager Wang said, “After we found out, we called the prison, and they informed us that it was due to the new regulations from the President that they couldn’t be released.”
Manager Wang explained that many Chinese clients prefer to be caught at the border because it enables them to enter the judicial process, have a record, and expedite their asylum applications.
“In the past during the Biden administration, being caught meant families with children were most likely sent to isolation facilities where they could leave at will; or they were detained in immigration prisons and sought lawyers for bail.”
The three aforementioned clients had already received “bail papers,” but a dramatic incident unfolded at the last moment when they reached the prison gates.
During a hearing in May 2024 held by the House Homeland Security Committee, a China expert named Craig Singleton stated that in recent years, the number of Chinese citizens entering the US through Mexico had significantly increased, exacerbating long-standing border issues and putting greater pressure on the US border control and national security systems.
According to data from the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) quoted in the report, the number of Chinese nationals illegally crossing the US-Mexico border surged from 689 in 2021 to 3,813 in 2022, and further rose to 37,439 in 2023.
Further inquiries into the CBP’s 2024 data revealed that while the total number of Chinese immigrants entering the US had not been published, there were 32,116 single adults and nearly 6,000 families who entered last year. Assuming an average family size of 4 people, the total number of Chinese immigrants who entered the US illegally in 2024 was estimated to be close to 60,000.
Manager Wang emphasized that the customs statistics were highly accurate, noting that while there were Chinese individuals who didn’t want to be caught, “this group makes up less than 1%.”
He gave an example to illustrate how Chinese individuals often prefer to be caught, highlighting the lax border control during the Biden administration.
He recounted a story of two Chinese sisters who entered the border and called 911 themselves when no one apprehended them, requesting to be arrested. However, the local police said “they didn’t care.” Eventually, the sisters, feeling afraid in the desert, called their already arrived family members to pick them up for entry and voluntarily got arrested by the police.
Singleton mentioned that factors contributing to the historic increase in Chinese immigrant numbers include economic pressures in China, escalating persecution by the Chinese Communist Party, and the prevalence of complex immigrant and smuggling networks on Chinese social media platforms.
Manager Wang agreed, noting that the earliest wave of “border crossers” were individuals who couldn’t survive in China after the pandemic and came to the US for a living.
“The recent border crossers are graduates of top Chinese universities like the 985 and 211 projects, showing a trend of higher education levels,” he said. “They are fluent in English and work as translators for Chinese nationals in immigration detention centers.”
Regarding the outcomes of the three mentioned clients, as the situation is still unfolding, please stay tuned for further reports from Da Ji Yuan. ◇