Jenny arrived in the United States in 2014, escaping an abusive marriage and the strict penalties imposed by China’s now-defunct one-child policy. She brought her daughter to San Francisco, hoping to start over in a place where she would not have to fear her government. Despite being undocumented, she built a life, finding work at a childcare center and eventually marrying a U.S. citizen. For nearly a decade, she lived with relative security, awaiting legal status.
That all changed with Donald Trump’s return to the White House. His vow to deport Chinese nationals en masse, particularly those of military age, has sent waves of panic through undocumented Chinese communities. Jenny now fears leaving the house. “People are very scared,” she told The Guardian. “My husband and I are very scared. So many policies have changed, and so many more are coming from the White House that might have an impact on us.” (ACZ Editor: This is a bit bogus, if she is married to an American, she is safe…)
Jenny’s story is not unique. Across the country, nearly 390,000 undocumented Chinese immigrants are facing the reality that their time in the U.S. may be running out. For many, returning to China is not an option. But for others, their presence in the U.S. raises serious national security concerns. Are these migrants simply seeking a better life, or is Beijing using this migration wave as a cover for something more?
A Surge in Migration: What’s Driving the Influx?
The sudden spike in Chinese nationals crossing into the U.S. is unprecedented. In 2023 alone, over 35,000 Chinese migrants made the dangerous trek through the Darién Gap, the treacherous jungle passage between Colombia and Panama. That was ten times higher than the previous year’s total. By 2024, the numbers had surpassed 24,000, more than the previous ten years combined.
Traditionally, most Chinese immigrants entered the U.S. legally on tourist visas and then overstayed. But with the Chinese government tightening visa approvals and worsening economic conditions in China, many desperate individuals are now resorting to illegal border crossings.
“The largest reason for me is the political environment,” said Mark Xu, a former English teacher in China who fled his home country. He described China’s political climate as so suffocating that it had become “difficult to breathe.”
Others, like Jian Hui, a labor organizer who went to prison for fighting for workers’ rights, feared applying for a U.S. visa because it would draw the attention of the Chinese government. “If I applied for a U.S. visa in China, the government might not let me leave,” Jian explained.
Religious persecution, government oppression, and economic instability are among the most common reasons why Chinese migrants are risking their lives to reach the U.S. One Chinese woman, Ying, laughed at the idea that Beijing was sending an army of infiltrators. “The Chinese government can’t be this unsophisticated,” she told NPR. “Aren’t most people coming here to live better and escape oppression?”
But while many migrants may be fleeing hardship, others question whether the Chinese government is quietly allowing this exodus to happen, and for what purpose.
A National Security Risk? The Espionage Debate
The rapid increase in undocumented Chinese immigrants has sparked concerns, particularly from the Trump administration and national security officials. At the heart of this debate is a critical question: could some of these migrants be operatives working for the Chinese Communist Party?
Trump has explicitly warned that Chinese nationals of military age are crossing the border in large numbers. “They’re building a little army in our country,” he said at a campaign rally, though he provided no direct evidence to support this claim.
Former Trump adviser Peter Navarro went even further, describing Chinese migrants crossing the border as “murderers, rapists, human traffickers, terrorists… Chinese spies.”
On the surface, these claims may sound like political fear-mongering. However, U.S. intelligence agencies have long warned about China’s massive espionage operations within American borders. The FBI has reported that Chinese-backed cybercriminals outnumber American cyber defense personnel by 50 to 1.
FBI Director Christopher Wray stated: “China’s hacking program is larger than that of every other major nation, combined.”
The fear is that amid the genuine asylum seekers, there could be individuals embedded within these migration waves, acting as intelligence gatherers for the Chinese government.
“Shouldn’t the question be ‘What is the evidence that unauthorized migrants are a threat?’” asked Doug Ligor, a former federal immigration lawyer. He criticized the argument that migrants should have to prove they aren’t spies rather than the government proving they are.
However, some intelligence experts argue that it’s unrealistic to assume China wouldn’t exploit the migration crisis for its own gain. China’s past espionage efforts have included academic infiltration, cyber espionage, and business theft, so why not human intelligence as well?
“If you make it to the U.S., then you’re more likely than not to be able to stay,” said Muzaffar Chishti of the Migration Policy Institute. “So it’s absolutely worth the chance of taking that risk.”
This is where the policy dilemma arises: how does the U.S. differentiate between legitimate asylum seekers and potential threats?
China’s Role: Is This Migration “Allowed” by Beijing?
A key aspect of this issue is that China rarely cooperates with U.S. deportation efforts. In fact, of the 1.3 million people in the U.S. with final deportation orders, about 100,000 are Chinese. Historically, China has simply refused to accept deported citizens, making enforcement nearly impossible.
But that appears to be changing. In recent months, the Chinese government has accepted several flights of deported Chinese migrants—a shift that has raised questions about whether Beijing is now using these migrants as leverage.
According to immigration lawyer Chen Chuangchuang, “China has recently exchanged prisoners with the U.S. many times and also accepted undocumented people. [Xi Jinping] calls it ‘law enforcement cooperation’ rather than ‘border and immigration issues.’”
If China is selectively choosing which migrants it takes back, could it also be strategically allowing certain individuals to remain in the U.S.?
“Nothing happens by accident in a totalitarian society,” a national security expert noted. “China controls its citizens closely. If this many people are leaving, it’s because Beijing is letting them.”
While most Chinese migrants are likely ordinary people seeking a better future, the sheer scale of migration raises unavoidable questions. Could Beijing be testing America’s immigration vulnerabilities?
The Uncertain Future
The fate of the 390,000 undocumented Chinese immigrants currently in the U.S. remains in limbo. With mass deportations already underway, many face the risk of being sent back to a country they no longer recognize.
At the same time, China’s intelligence and cyber warfare campaigns are only growing more sophisticated. If Beijing wanted to exploit America’s broken immigration system, could it already be happening?
For now, fear grips both sides of this debate. Immigrants like Jenny are afraid of deportation. National security officials are afraid of what they don’t know about those entering the country.
ACZ Editor: We believe that most of the illegal Chinese immigrants are sincere in wanting to escape China, but then again if only 10% are Chinese Communist Party plants, then we have a sizable insurgent army in our country. This is a dangerous situation in dangerous times.
