Economic and political reasons drive Chinese nationals to make a long and risky journey to the US
American progressives insist that the American dream is dead. But for thousands of Chinese migrants who have taken long and dangerous journeys through Latin America and eventually reached the U.S.-Mexico border, the American dream is alive and well and worth risking everything they have.
Reuter reports that between October 2022 and March 2023, U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents apprehended more than 6,500 Chinese nationals at the U.S.-Mexico border, an increase of more than 15 times from the same period a year ago.
For Chinese nationals who seek to escape China, coming to the U.S. through Latin America is a protracted, expensive and perilous journey.
Chinese President Xi Jinping waves during an event at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 23, 2022. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, File)
The 2,300-mile trek usually begins with Chinese nationals flying to Ecuador, one of the few South American countries they can enter visa-free. From Ecuador, Chinese with means typically pay about $60,000 or more for "more direct or safer smuggling routes, such as air passage to Mexico, where 'snakehead agents’ bribe customs officials to let Chinese in with forged travel documents," according to the Wall Street Journal.
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Chinese nationals with lesser means usually pay between $7,000 and $10,000 to have smugglers take them to the U.S.-Mexico border through more indirect routes. They must pass through some of the most dangerous areas, including the Darién Gap jungle and Mexico’s notorious Highway 101, known as the "Highway of Death." Chinese migrants are frequent victims of carjackings, robberies, sexual assaults and other violent crimes.
Economic and political reasons drove these Chinese nationals to make a long and risky journey to the U.S. When China’s current dictator Xi Jinping came to power in late 2012, he promised the nation’s 1.4 billion people a "Chinese dream – to deliver prosperity and national rejuvenation." Yet, the Chinese people soon realized Xi’s "Chinese dream" was their nightmare.
Xi is the most cold-blooded dictator since Mao Zedong. He has ruthlessly suppressed ethnic minorities, religious believers, political dissenters and party officials. He also built a mass surveillance state to control the Chinese people’s thoughts and behaviors.
To many Chinese people’s further dismay, Xi removed the presidential term limit from China’s constitution and became a dictator for life. His emphasis on indoctrinating Chinese youth from kindergarten to college with "red education," promoting unyielding loyalty to himself and the Communist Party, reminds older generations of Mao’s destructive Cultural Revolution.
Most Chinese people accepted limited political freedom in exchange for economic prosperity. But under Xi’s watch, China’s economic growth has notably slowed down, largely due to Xi’s policies.
His crackdown on some of the most successful Chinese tech companies and business elites eroded investors’ confidence and dampened entrepreneur spirit. His meddling with China’s property market led to the collapse of China’s largest property company and depressed housing prices, and many Chinese saw their lives tied to unfinished housing projects.
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The last straw for many Chinese, especially Chinese youth, was Xi’s brutally enforced "zero-COVID" policy during the previous three years, which has devastated China’s economy and caused the Chinese people unmentionable pain and suffering. After the Chinese youth in several big cities staged "white paper" protests late last year, the Chinese government reversed its COVID policy suddenly without much preparation or explanation, which led to a chaotic reopening and further eroded some people’s last remaining confidence in Xi’s leadership.
Today, China’s post-COVID economic recovery is stalling, and the unemployment rate for people aged 16–24 reached 20.4%.
The lack of political freedom and economic opportunities has prompted many Chinese to seek ways to leave China. China’s upper class led the migration wave, and the desire to leave China has trickled down to middle-class and ordinary Chinese citizens. One of the most popular internet terms on Chinese social media is 走线, meaning to enter the U.S. illegally through Latin America. It’s "voting with their feet" with Chinese characteristics.
Chinese people with lesser means and those who want to leave China soon opt for 走线, driven by the long wait for U.S. visas and the belief that the Biden administration’s lax border control has made an illegal border crossing relatively consequence-free.
The Biden administration’s lax border control has made an illegal border crossing relatively consequence-free. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik, File)
As more Chinese nationals who made it to the U.S. through 走线 shared their experiences and tips online, more felt encouraged to follow suit, despite the dangers they may face. Although Chinese nationals constitute a small portion of all illegal crossings at the U.S.-Mexico border, they represent a fast-growing subset.
While the rising number of illegal Chinese migrants has added complexity to our nation’s current border crisis, they also represent a geopolitical opportunity with domestic political implications.
During the Cold War, President Lyndon Johnson used U.S. immigration policy to combat communism by offering special treatment to Cuban immigrants. Besides making tremendous contributions to America’s economy, many Cuban immigrants have become one of America’s most vocal anti-communism political forces.
President Lyndon Johnson used U.S. immigration policy to combat communism by offering special treatment to Cuban immigrants. (Getty Images)
It is in America’s interest to apply the historical lesson learned from tailoring an immigration policy to support Cuban political refugees to today’s Chinese migrants.
Suppose the U.S. expands legal immigration to assist more Chinese who have risked everything to leave China to become Americans. Our nation will gain more productive and patriotic citizens and score significant geopolitical victories in that case, at the expense of Xi’s "brain drain."
Nothing will embarrass the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) more than the image of Chinese Americans waving American flags and vowing to defend the U.S. Constitution. That same image will also send American progressives a powerful rebuttal: that the American dream is alive and continues to inspire freedom-loving people.
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Helen Raleigh is a senior contributor to The Federalist, author of "Confucius Never Said," and of "Backlash: How China's Aggression Has Backfired." Follow her on Twitter: @HRaleighspeaks.
