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(RepublicanPress.org) – US Immigration and Customs Enforcement Removal Statistics data from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) showed there were nearly 340,000 migrants removed from the US from October 2020 through February. The top three countries that became the recipients of those removals were Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras. Recently, however, the US deported migrants from a country not even on the list — China.
On July 2, DHS reported that it sent a large charter flight of Chinese nationals back to their home country. Other reports stated that 116 people were on the flight. The DHS notice pointed out that it was the first flight of its kind since 2018, adding that the department worked with the National Immigration Administration of the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to make that happen.
The notice also stated it would continue working with that administration and the PRC’s Ministry of Public Security to coordinate future removals. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said the US will “continue to enforce [its] immigration laws” to remove migrants illegally remaining within American borders.
DHS said the removal was part of the US and PRC’s cooperative efforts to stop unlawful migration and halt human smuggling operations. It’s unclear how long the Chinese nationals were in the United States before their removal. However, the flight is so significant because it’s been difficult over the years to remove migrants from China back to their own country.
The PRC refused to take them in the past, causing a bottleneck in the process and leaving the US in a tough spot. In May, a PRC embassy spokesperson said China was “open to collaboration with the United States” to return illegal immigrants to the country — as long as the US addresses “China’s concerns.” The spokesperson also blasted the US media for blaming China for the bottleneck. It seems Mayorkas jumped on the opportunity to coordinate with the Asian nation on this issue.
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