Over 10,000 single Chinese men detained at US border from October to now

Nearly 13,000 Chinese nationals have been apprehended trying to cross the United States' southern border illegally since October 1, 2022, A nearly 1,000 percent increase from last year's total. 

According to Breitbart, approximately 84% of those apprehended are single adults who are eventually released to pursue asylum in the US. The apprehensions grew steadily over the last year. In March 2022, 74 Chinese nationals were apprehended, 146 in April, and more than 1,000 a month by January 2023. 

The Chinese government opened its ports of entry and loosened travel restrictions in January 2023 for the first time since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. The information that agents can get from migrants indicates that they are fleeing from an oppressive Chinese regime and economic hardships caused by their pandemic policies. 

An anonymous Customs and Border Patrol agent told the outlet that due to the language barrier, they are struggling to find a definitive reason for the increase. 

"Having to use third-party translation services, Border Patrol agents and intelligence officers who are already struggling to cope with thousands of migrant apprehensions daily are getting limited intelligence information from the migrants,” the agent said of the challenges brought by the language barrier. 

Dr. Kenneth Allard, a retired Army intelligence officer and author of "Warheads: Cable News and the Fog of War," said he is concerned about the lack of intelligence coming from the influx. "Totalitarian governments like China are great exploiters of opportunity,” he said. "They recognize weakness and capitalize on it immediately. What we are seeing reflects a deliberate policy choice by the regime.”

According to Reuters, many of the migrants learn how to make the trip to the US via the Mexican border using the Chinese version of TikTok. on Top of economic conditions, the US making it harder to obtain a visa, and the Chinese government's tightening of religious freedoms have led Christians to flee the country and use the alternate route to the US. 

The report comes as Title 42 orders expired in May ending COVID-era restrictions that allowed the US to deny entry to those seeking asylum until approved. Which has led to a spike in those seeking entry to the county.