After China’s prolonged and strict COVID lockdown destroyed her business, a woman decided to leave her two young children with family to travel to Mexico and cross into the U.S. through a hole at the border.
She’s far from alone: Chinese migrants are the fastest growing group trying to cross into the U.S. from Mexico. Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection reported 37,000 Chinese citizens were apprehended as they illegally crossed the border; that’s 50 times more than two years earlier.
Many of the migrants say they made the journey to escape China’s increasingly repressive political climate and sluggish economy. The mom, through a translator, told “60 Minutes” that what motivated her was more than economic reasons and could be summed up in one word.
“Freedom,” she said.
Migrants, undeterred by policies designed to reduce illegal entries, have been crossing the U.S.-Mexico border in unprecedented numbers. Last year, U.S. Customs and Border Protection recorded two-and-a-half million instances of detaining or turning away people attempting to cross into the United States from Mexico.
One point of entry is a 4-foot gap at the end of a border fence 60 miles east of San Diego. Smugglers in SUVs race along the border fence and drop migrants off near the gap. Over four days, “60 Minutes” witnessed nearly 600 migrants — adults and children — pass through the gap and onto U.S. soil, unchecked.
“Freedom,” she said.
One man, a college graduate, said his trip from China took 40 days. He said he had traveled through Thailand, Morocco, Ecuador, Colombia, Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua on his way to the U.S border.
The gap is a global destination, littered with travel documents from around the world. With the help of a translator, “60 Minutes” met some of the Chinese migrants coming through, including a teacher, a banker, some small business owners and a factory worker.
Unlike the migrants who make the grueling journey through Central America, some middle class migrants from China arrive with rolling bags. Some said they took flights all the way to Mexico.
With visas more difficult to acquire, many are turning to the U.S. southern border, where they cross illegally, then wait to be picked up by Border Patrol agents.
At the legal points of entry, asylum-seekers can request an appointment to enter the U.S. through CBP One mobile app. The CBP One system is glitchy. Volunteers who work with migrants told us the wait is 3-4 months to secure an appointment with the app.
Last year, 55% of Chinese migrants were granted asylum compared with 14% of migrants from other countries, according to the Department of Justice.
With the odds in their favor –and instructions on TikTok to guide them– there’s little to discourage more Chinese migrants from coming through the gap, something that’s made California resident Jerry Shuster’s life very difficult.
Shuster, a 75-year-old retiree, owns the land near the border gap where the migrants wait to be picked up by Border Patrol. He owns 17 acres just north of the border fence and a quarter mile outside of Jacumba Hot Springs, California. Shuster came to the U.S. from Yugoslavia. He describes his immigration journey as coming “through the front door.”
Migrants began arriving on his property in May. He went to investigate some smoke coming from his property and found migrants burning trees to stay warm while they waited for Border Patrol to pick them up. Sometimes that can take a few hours. Other times, it takes days.
“I’m just protecting my own land,” he said.
Shuster wasn’t charged, but his gun was confiscated.
Since, Shuster estimates 3,000 migrants a week have come through the hole. Shuster’s property is littered with the trash and tents migrants have left behind. He said officials know about the hole and that he’s asked for it to be fixed.
