Border Patrol agents apprehended more than 24,000 migrants from the People’s Republic of China (PRC) along the Southwest border during fiscal year 2023, according to a DHS report reviewed by Breitbart Texas. The report, provided by a source within the agency, shows the increase in apprehensions of migrants from the communist regime represents a more than 1,115 percent increase from the 1,987 apprehended the previous year.
According to the report reviewed by Breitbart Texas, migrants from the PRC apprehended during fiscal year 2023 represent a more significant increase from fiscal year 2021 when the Border Patrol encountered a total of 342 migrants from the PRC. More than 11,000 Chinese nationals have entered the United States since June.
Border Patrol reports dating back to FY 2007 reveal the cumulative total of Chinese migrant apprehensions is less than 20,000.
As reported by Breitbart Texas, the significant rise in PRC nationals was alarming to a source within CBP at that time and defied any explanation agency intelligence officials could conclude through post-arrest debriefs.
According to the source, more than 80 percent of the migrants from the PRC are single adults. After processing by the Border Patrol, most are released to pursue asylum claims in the United States.
The source says intelligence debriefings yield little information about the migrants and their purpose for entering. The language barrier is proving to be a challenge, according to the source. The volume of migrants crossing from more than 280 countries during the fiscal year negatively impacted the time Border Patrol agents could dedicate to debriefing individual migrants. During the month of September, on many days, Border Patrol apprehensions surged to nearly 10,000 migrants daily.
Breitbart Texas recently spoke to Dr. Kenneth Allard, a retired Army Colonel and former Dean of Students at the National War College, regarding the increase in Chinese nationals entering the United States. As an author of several works, including Warheads: Cable News and the Fog of War, a former intelligence officer, and special assistant to the Army Chief of Staff, Allard expressed concern with the lack of intelligence regarding the spike in migrant apprehension of citizens from the People’s Republic of China.
Allard says the fact may be that most of the migrants from the PRC are dissidents fleeing poor conditions in China. But as an expert on totalitarian regimes, he believes the current administration lacks the willpower to investigate the phenomenon properly.
“Totalitarian governments like China are great exploiters of opportunity. They recognize weakness and capitalize on it immediately, Allard told Breitbart Texas. “What we are seeing reflects a deliberate policy choice by the regime.”
When asked about the potential for China to take advantage of the current crisis along the southern border, Allard says the regime most certainly recognizes the weakness President Biden has exhibited on the international stage, adding, “It’s obvious he is not entirely in control at present, China realizes that as well.”
The travel route for most of Chinese migrants is costly and arduous, according to a source within CBP. The journey to the United States usually involves traveling from Hong Kong to Turkey and onto Ecuador. Ecuador is a common point along the route, as Chinese nationals are not required to possess a visa to enter the Latin American country.
The migrants, according to the source, move through Panama’s Darien Gap before traversing through Central America, into Mexico, and on to the United States’ southern border. As reported by Breitbart Texas, the smuggling fees have been revealed to be as high as $55,000 to reach the U.S./Mexico Border from the People’s Republic of China.
According to the FBI, the threat emanating from the government of China and those loyal to the Chinese Communist Party is a top intelligence priority. On the agency website concerning the China threat, the FBI emphasizes the seriousness of the threat, stating, “The counterintelligence and economic espionage efforts emanating from the government of China and the Chinese Communist Party are a grave threat to the economic well-being and democratic values of the United States.”
The FBI clarifies that the threat is not the Chinese people or people of Chinese descent or heritage but comes from the programs and policies pursued by an authoritarian government. Distinguishing the difference between economic migrants from China and those loyal to the Chinese Communist Party at the time of arrest at the southwest border is the challenge, according to the CBP source.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX
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