The number of Chinese nationals entering the U.S. illegally across the southern border has exploded this year, according to data from U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP).
In September, U.S. Border Patrol agents encountered 7,271 individuals from the People’s Republic of China attempting to enter the country illegally.
That’s more than any previous month going back to January 2020. In all of 2020, less than 19,000 Chinese foreign nationals were caught entering the U.S. illegally.
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Those arriving illegally in the U.S. from China are almost all single adults.
While the vast majority have been encountered along the southern border, the number of Chinese nationals entering the U.S. illegally along the northern border has also spiked.
So far in 2023, 11,195 Chinese nationals have been encountered along the northern border, according to CBP data.
