Last year, almost 25,000 Chinese nationals crossed the southwest border of the United States. They make the perilous journey through the Darien Gap to reach the United States in their search for a different life. However, many of these migrants struggle to find their footing in the United States.
Between April 2023 to March 2024, 24,376 Chinese nationals were counted at the Southern border of the United States, the most common entrance for Chinese migrants seeking asylum in the United States. While Chinese nationals only account for two percent of all migrant encounters, there has been an increase of 8,500% in encounters with Chinese migrants at the US border, as compared to March 2021.
The issue of Chinese migrants coming to the United States has become a critical topic for both Republicans and Democrats. Republicans express concerns about Chinese migrants’ impact on the United States’ security and Democrats point to the migrants as emblematic of the impact of the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) repressive form of government on its people. In November 2023, rising numbers of Chinese migrants at the United States’ Southern border prompted President Biden to place immigration enforcement of Chinese migrants near the top of the agenda during his meeting with President Xi. However, the reality for many of these migrants is far removed from the political messages they are manipulated to represent.
Most Chinese migrants make the perilous journey to the United States to search for better economic and educational opportunities for themselves and their families, while others seek safety from political persecution. However, the treacherous journey does not end when the migrants reach the United States as they must wait for the processing of their asylum claim while searching for a safe community and a stable income.
![Source: Department of Homeland Security [Graphic created by Uma Baron]](https://asiamattersforamerica.org/uploads/images/Picture-1.png)
Source: Department of Homeland Security [Graphic created by Uma Baron]
The Journey
Many migrants started leaving China by securing trips to nations that do not require visas for Chinese nationals. The most common visa-free entry point is Ecuador, after which migrants travel to Colombia where they pass through the Darién Gap alongside migrants from Haiti, Venezuela, and Cuba. In response to the large number of Chinese nationals entering Ecuador with the purpose of migrating to the United States, Ecuador has recently announced that all Chinese nationals are now required to have an entry visa. To circumvent this new law, Chinese migrants will now have to find different, and riskier, routes of entrances in Latin American migration routes.
In an interview, Alicia Chen, a journalist who has written about Chinese migrants making the journey to the United States through the Darién Gap, spoke about her surprise when she arrived in the town of Necoclí in Colombia and was surrounding by Mandarin speaking people. As a Mandarin speaker herself, she took it upon herself to speak with those gathered and eventually decided to follow them from Turkey, the start of their journey, as part of a documentary being released later this year.
After traversing the Darién Gap into Panama, migrants continue through Central America until they reach the Mexico-US border, where they claim asylum. Migrants are not unguided in their journey as they have access to informal guides through social media platforms that provide step-by-step instructions for the journey – even including the exact peso amount for a bus trip. The prevalence of these guides on Chinese social media is a testament to the increasing popularity of this migrant path among Chinese migrants.
The Motives
As Chen travelled with the group, many of which asked to keep their identities hidden, she discovered a variety of reasons driving migrants to go on this journey.
Economic factors were the most common impetus for Chinese migrants. Post-Covid 19 recovery of the Chinese economy has been tumultuous, driving migrants to leave as travel restrictions eased. During the pandemic and its accompanying lockdowns, many people faced food, health, and job insecurities. Some migrants discussed the stress induced by waiting in queues for pre-portioned food that was not enough to sustain them and their families. Another spoke of spending 15 days in detention after breaking Covid-19 restrictions while trying to get medical attention for his young daughter.
The middle class in the PRC has been most affected by the economic slowdown, with the shrinking economy and the smaller job market taking the toll on people’s everyday lives. With the cost of migration averaging $20,000 per person, only those who can gather this significant amount are able to migrate, making the majority of migrants are members of the Chinese middle class. Of the Chinese migrants accounted for in Ecuador, 71% are male and 53% are between the ages of 20 and 39. As various economic pressures form a unique nexus that compels them to leave the PRC, groups of migrants mostly consist of skilled, university educated men, who previously held jobs as teachers and engineers.
Another factor was the political environment. Alongside political dissidents, Chen spoke with an LGTBQ+ couple who could not see a viable future for themselves in the PRC. Since President Xi came to power in 2013, LGBTQ+ organizations and people have faced increasing pressure to conform, with safe spaces being monitored and restricted. As political pressure on LGBTQ+ people in the PRC surmounts, the number of Chinese migrants seeking asylum in the United States from persecution based on their sexual orientation will increase.
Life in the United States
“The US is not ideal, but it is a place where I can be who I am,” one migrant said when they spoke to Chen, who was reporting on behalf of The Guardian at the time. Most of the migrants seek out border enforcement to claim asylum. However, only about 55% of Chinese migrants’ asylum claims are accepted, while the rest are sent back to China or evade US authorities and remain undocumented. According to Chen, some Chinese migrants return to the PRC willingly due to being dispirited with their lives in the US, particularly with their economic situation. Life does not get easier once in the US - migrants face an uphill battle in their claims to asylum and in pursuing the American Dream
With intensifying PRC-US relations, fueled by new tariffs and trade restrictions, Chinese migrants can no longer rely on traditional routes of migration such as education or connections. Now, they must brave the illegal migration routes, and the perils that come with illegal immigration in search of stability in the United States.
The author would like to thank Alicia Chen, a journalist who covers humanitarian crises, social injustice and human rights, for agreeing to do an interview with her and being a valuable resource for this article.
Uma Baron is Summer 2024 Young Professional at the East West Center in Washington. Uma is a recent graduate from the University of Edinburgh where she earned an MA Hons in Chinese Studies. Uma previously served as an intern at the Global Taiwan Institute.