Homeland Security Deports 109 Chinese Illegal Immigrants on Charter Flight

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has confirmed that it deported a group of 109 Chinese nationals unlawfully present in the United States on a charter flight back to China on Nov. 16.
“This removal flight is yet another example of the Department’s ongoing cooperation with the PRC and other international partners to reduce and deter irregular migration through enforcement of immigration law,” it said, referring to communist China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.
“Our message is clear: individuals who lack a lawful basis to stay in America will be removed,” Canegallo said.
CBP officials apprehended more than 24,300 Chinese citizens at the southern border during fiscal year 2023, more than 10 times the 2,176 apprehensions in the previous fiscal year. More than 38,200 Chinese nationals were apprehended in fiscal year 2024.
The lawmakers pointed out that U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement removed 288 Chinese nationals from the United States in fiscal year 2023, a small number compared to the volume apprehended at the U.S.–Mexico border during the same period.
The lawmakers said DHS did not disclose whether the 116 Chinese nationals deported in June had criminal backgrounds, ties to espionage networks, or the specific reasons for their removal.
“This is concerning as China and the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) pose grave threats to the United States’ economic and national security,” the lawmakers wrote.
The lawmakers requested more information from Mayorkas and Blinken, including the number of Chinese nationals released into the United States from the southern border in fiscal years 2024, 2023, 2022, and 2021.
Additionally, they asked if any of the 116 Chinese illegal immigrants faced criminal charges or convictions, had gang affiliations or ties to terrorist organizations, or had ties to “espionage activities to foreign governments.”
“The alarming rise in such breaches suggests a coordinated effort by the Chinese Communist Party to gauge the security of sites critical to U.S. national security, potentially in anticipation for an attack from within the homeland,” the letter reads.
“This concerning possibility is further amplified by the recent uptick in U.S. Border Patrol encounters with Chinese nationals attempting to illegally enter the U.S. via the southern border.”