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The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed that they carried out a removal flight of Chinese migrants over the weekend, marking the first large-scale operation of this kind since 2018.
In an announcement on Tuesday, US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) said they moved forward with the deportation of 116 on a charter flight. This was done in close collaboration with China’s National Immigration Administration. According to DHS, “the United States and PRC are working to reduce and deter irregular migration and to disrupt illicit human smuggling through expanded law enforcement efforts.”

Chinese Nationals now lead in illegal crossings at US southern border. In the first five months of 2024, US officials apprehended 16,270 Chinese nationals at the US-Mexico border, bringing the total to over 50,000 since China ended its zero-Covid policy in December 2022.
In a statement, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said, “We will continue to enforce our immigration laws and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States. People should not believe the lies of smugglers.”

This initiative follows President Biden’s recent measures to curb border crossings, a move aimed at restricting the influx of migrants when daily encounters exceed 2,500. Since implementing this rule, the DHS has coordinated over 120 international repatriation flights to more than 20 countries. The department emphasized that most encounters at the US southern border have resulted in removal, return, or expulsion.