Chinese at the border -a growing category of migrant asylum seekers
#ChineseImmigration #BorderCrisis #IllegalImmigrnation #Internet #MexicanBorder #ChineseExclusionAct #AsylumSeeking
Another Scattered Thought, done relatively quickly. While I started to do in-depth research on the subject, I caught myself and moved on, instead focusing on other pieces. Again, tell your friends. Share STAFI please.
It’s been widely reported in numerous sources ranging from Fox News to the New York Times that among large numbers of border crossers seeing asylum at the US southern border, there are not just Latin Americans and Haitians, but also large numbers of Chinese.
Just to add some historical context, Chinese entering the USA illegally at the Mexican border is nothing new. After the passage of the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, thousands of Chinese entered illegally through Mexico and the southern border, many disguised as Mexicans. (Lee) [Tell your friends about this publication, share it with interested parties, and on socially media, and if all goes well, I will tell you all about it some day.]
The article below offers a lot of useful information on the how and why of the current issues at the border. One question on my mind though is "why and how the recent surges in asylum seekers at the border?" (and, no, it's not a Biden or a Trump issue as they both had this problem.)
All immigration to the USA is a mixture of external factors (the push to leave someplace else) and internal factors (the pull to choose the USA as a destination), and the crisis on the southern border is no exception. It's a mixture of external problems (many Central American nations are a mess and people will do desperate things to find a new life, some fearing their very survival if they do not come here), and internal American conditions (relative to much of the rest of the world. Many people have no idea how lucky they are to be living here, even if life here can be tough and challenging.).
However, we have to ask “Why now?” Why is this crisis happening now, instead of, for instance, 20 or 30 or 50 years ago? A major new factor, according to the article, is an improved global communication system called the internet and improved access to the internet and ease of organizing and sharing information. Thousands of people can share info on the best ways to get to the USA, how to tap into networks that will faciliate bringing your here (even these walking caravans from Central America used modern technology to organize) and how to apply for asylum when one arrives. The means of sharing such information and adding to it was not as easily available ten years ago. (Also while I have not seen this in print, I believe that the anti-US, foreign troll farms in Russia, China, and elsewhere must be adding to this problem by encouraging people to do this. They do a surprising amount, and it’s disturbing that there is so little awareness of their work and results.)
Based on my background knowledge of Chinese legal, illegal, and semi-legal immigration, and changes in China, its economy, covid policies, and the way global social media works, as well as US Asylum laws and the fact that China is easily classified as a totalitarian state, the influx of Chinese asylum seekers at the border seems, in hindsight, inevitable to me, and reversing this trend will not be easy. A good place to start, in my opinion, is by taking a good look at restructuring our asylum laws and creating an effective system to
Update (of sorts)
On April 2, 2024, CNN ran this piece on this on-going issue. While CNN is not my favorite news source, it is well worth reading.
CNN - Eight Chinese migrants found dead on Mexico beach after boat capsizes
PARTIAL BIBLIOGRAPHY
Alfonsi, Sharon. “Chinese migrants are the fastest growing group crossing from Mexico into U.S. at southern border.” CBS News. 60 Minutes. February 4, 2024. https://www.cbsnews.com/news/chinese-migrants-fastest-growing-group-us-mexico-border-60-minutes-transcript/
Lee, Erika. “Enforcing the Borders": Chinese Exclusion along the U.S. Borders with Canada and Mexico, 1882-1924.” The Journal of American History. 89, no. 1 (2002): 54-86.