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The department did not specify how many people were on the
flight.
The United States and China are working on reducing illegal
migration and combating human smuggling, DHS said.
"We will continue to enforce our immigration laws and remove
individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United
States," said DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said in a
statement. "People should not believe the lies of smugglers."
The difficulty of obtaining U.S. visas and the economic
aftershocks of China’s COVID lockdowns led to a sharp increase
in Chinese nationals presenting at the U.S.-Mexico border.
Nearly 56,000 Chinese migrants have been encountered at both the
Southwest border with Mexico and the northern border with Canada
crossing both between and at ports of entry in the 2024 fiscal
year through May, according to U.S. government data. That is
more than the 52,700 that crossed in the entire 2023 fiscal year
that ended in October.
U.S. President Joe Biden, a Democrat seeking another term in the
Nov. 5 election, has walked a political tightrope on
immigration, trying to step up security at the U.S.-Mexico
border while also taking a more humane approach to immigrants in
the United States illegally.
Republican presidential rival Donald Trump has regularly
criticized Biden for failing to stem high levels of illegal
immigration.
(Reporting by Doina Chiacu and Mica Rosenberg; Editing by
Caitlin Webber)
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