This is the fourth deportation this year since China resumed cooperation with the United States in May.
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced on Dec. 11 the fourth charter flight in six months to deport Chinese nationals found unlawfully residing in the United States.
The large-frame charter flight departed from the United States on Dec. 9, according to a department statement. The DHS said the removal of Chinese illegal immigrants was conducted in collaboration with its counterparts in China and noted its ongoing cooperation with other countries to prevent illegal immigration.
The DHS told The Epoch Times in an email that 119 individuals were on this flight.
“DHS and its counterparts in the PRC also continue joint work to counter the human smuggling networks that facilitate irregular migration,” the DHS stated, referring to communist China’s official name, the People’s Republic of China.
“Our messaging has been clear: Do not believe the lies of smugglers.”
According to the DHS, more than 742,000 individuals were removed or returned between May 12, 2023, and May 12, 2024. In November, the DHS said it had conducted more than 660 repatriation flights to over 160 countries since June.
The first removal flight of 116 Chinese illegal immigrants occurred in June, then the largest charter flight removal since 2018. The DHS subsequently removed 131 Chinese illegal immigrants in October and 109 more in November.
The initial flight in June took place a month after Beijing resumed cooperation with Washington on the deportation of Chinese illegal immigrants found in the United States. The Chinese Embassy said in a statement in May that cooperation would require the United States to “pay reciprocal attention” to Beijing’s concerns.
The Chinese regime had previously suspended all bilateral cooperation in 2022 after House Speaker Nancy Pelosi made an official visit to Taiwan. Beijing often negotiates on several fronts simultaneously, such as tying diplomatic issues to trade. The regime routinely leverages its international agreements to secure silence on democracy, Taiwan, and human rights.
During that period, the United States saw a surge of Chinese nationals immigrating illegally and a sharp rise in apprehensions at the southern border.
Customs and Border Protection (CBP) had apprehended more than 24,300 Chinese citizens at the U.S. 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.
In May, Congress held a hearing on the issue, during which former foreign service officer Simon Hankinson explained that the presence of Chinese nationals at the southern border was due to Ecuador’s visa-free policy for Chinese travelers, allowing them to continue their journey north on foot.
Hankinson, a senior research fellow in the Border Security and Immigration Center at The Heritage Foundation, testified that the parole policy meant that most of those apprehended during the surge were not removed from the country upon apprehension.
“In fiscal year 2023, Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) removed only 288 Chinese aliens, leaving up to 100,000 still in the United States, despite final orders of removal,” he testified.
Aldgra Fredly and Frank Fang contributed to this report.