President Joe Biden’s Department of Homeland Security announced on Tuesday that it had executed a deportation of illegal immigrants from China last weekend. The operation marked the “first large deportation charter flight to China” under the Biden administration.
In a Tuesday press release, the Department of Homeland Security stated, “This weekend, the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), through U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), conducted a removal flight to the People’s Republic of China (PRC) of Chinese nationals.”
The Department of Homeland Security added, “This was the first large charter flight since 2018 and was conducted in close coordination with the National Immigration Administration of the PRC.”
The Department of Homeland Security did not disclose the number of illegal immigrants that were on the large deportation charter flight to China in its press release. However, the department noted that it is continuing to coordinate with the PRC’s Ministry of Public Security and National Immigration Administration to conduct additional deportation flights.
Announcing the deportation effort on Tuesday, the agency explained that the operation was part of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas’ “continued efforts to engage the [People’s Republic of China] on areas of mutual interest.” The Department of Homeland Security said that both the United States and China are working to “reduce and deter irregular migration and to disrupt illicit human smuggling through expanded law enforcement efforts.”
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Earlier this year, Republicans in the House of Representatives voted to impeach Mayorkas due to the unprecedented level of illegal immigration taking place under the Biden administration. However, the Democrat-led Senate later voted to dismiss the impeachment of Mayorkas without holding a trial.
Despite facing widespread criticism over the Biden administration’s border policies, Mayorkas touted the recent deportation operation, saying, “We will continue to enforce our immigration laws and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States.” He added, “People should not believe the lies of smugglers.”
The Daily Wire reported that while the number of Chinese illegal immigrants deported over the weekend has not been released, one charter flight of illegal immigrants does not compare with the tens of thousands of Chinese nationals who have been arrested by U.S. Customs and Border Protection agents under the Biden administration.
CNN previously reported that in just the first 11 months of 2023, 31,000 Chinese nationals were apprehended while trying to illegally enter the United States by crossing the U.S.-Mexico border. The New York Times noted that the number of Chinese nationals arrested for illegally crossing the border in 2023 was higher than the previous 10 years combined.
