(NewsNation) — Social media is one of the influences leading a record number of Chinese migrants to the United States’ southern border, South China Morning Post reporter Bochen Han tells “NewsNation Now.”
Han said migrants see videos on the Chinese version of TikTok, Douyin, or through western social media said on X.
“[They] discuss with others who have made the journey before so they get a sense of what life in America might be like, they get a sense of what the packages are in terms of the ‘snakeheads’ (smugglers) they may have to use in terms of making the journey,” Han said.
Han has conducted interviews with some of the people crossing the border, learning about the experiences and aspirations causing them to seek asylum in America.
“It’s everything from, you know, being fined for having a second child and not registering it to not getting workplace interest, injury compensation. So very commonplace issues that builds up over time for them,” she said.
A lack of political freedom and economic opportunities are also leading to migration, according to Han.
“‘The way it was described to me was that, you know, America is a land of economic opportunity, and also freedom,” Han said. “And a lot of them tell me that if they could have done it legally, they would have done it legally.”
These migrants are part of a large surge in Chinese nationals attempting to enter the U.S. through the southern border.
Border agents in the San Diego Sector have encountered more than 24,000 Chinese nationals so far this fiscal year, more than double the tally from last fiscal year, according to Customs and Border Protection data.
Nationally, CBP data indicates nearly 42,000 Chinese nationals have entered the U.S. illegally this fiscal year that began in October, nearing the record total number of 52,700 encounters in 2023.
About half of those migrants were stopped along the southern U.S. border by Border Patrol agents, and most sought asylum.
Is there a rush to make it into America? Han believes President Joe Biden’s early June crackdown on border crossings could factor into the immigration influx.
“There was definitely the sentiment that, you know, President Biden had friendlier asylum policies, and it was important to get in before that was revamped in case of changes in the election season,” she said.
According to the Department of Justice, more than 50% of Chinese asylum applicatints were granted asylum in FY 2023, compared with the 14% average across all nationalities.
NewsNation’s Safia Samee Ali, Jorge Ventura, Aleksandra Bush and Stephanie Haines contributed to this report.