The Associated Press reported on Monday that China has resumed cooperation with the United States to repatriate illegal Chinese immigrants discovered to be living in the U.S. The suspension happened in August 2022, when tensions reached a peak, over the visit to Taiwan of then-House Speaker Nancy Pelosi.
The previous termination was only one of many of Beijing's larger objection to official engagements between Taiwan and foreign governments—the latter due to its perception of Taiwan as a province that should reunite with the mainland by force if necessary. The U.S. provides military support to Taiwan, further muddying diplomatic waters.
There was a dramatic increase in the number of Chinese immigrants who illegally enter the United States through Mexico during the U.S.-China cooperation lull. In 2023, U.S. border authorities reported over 37,000 Chinese nationals compared to the number of arrests a year ago. The increased trend has been linked to several factors, including tightened visa and border measures by both the U.S. and the Chinese government, which has increased censorship of online information about migration routes.
The confirmation was obtained this week on the recent move by China to resume dialogue and accept deportees. This signals the possibility of returning to more regular cooperation regarding immigration enforcement. According to Ariel G. Ruiz Soto, senior policy analyst for the Migration Policy Institute, though this resumption may increase deportations in the short term, the long-run effects on migrant flows will depend on the ability of the U.S. to carry out removals.
What further complicates the matter is that social media platforms like Douyin, Chinese TikTok, have blocked content related to illegal migration routes, popularly known as "Zouxian," thus affecting the spread of information on the perilous journeys many undertake just to get to the U.S.
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