A young Chinese man named Deng Guangsen was found lost and exhausted at a transit station in San Diego after a perilous two-month journey from Guangdong, China. Deng, like many other Chinese migrants, traveled through seven countries, including the dangerous Darién Gap jungle in Panama, to reach the United States. Chinese migrants are increasingly using this route to escape a repressive political climate and poor economic prospects in China. They make up the fourth-highest nationality crossing the Darién Gap, following Venezuelans, Ecuadorians, and Haitians.
The influx of Chinese migrants is part of a larger presence of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, including Asians, South Americans, and Africans. September saw the second-highest number of illegal crossings, and the U.S. government’s 2023 budget year recorded the second-highest number of crossings on record. The COVID-19 pandemic and China’s tight border controls temporarily slowed the exodus, but emigration has now resumed due to China’s struggling economy and high youth unemployment. The United Nations estimates that China will lose 310,000 people through emigration this year, compared to 120,000 in 2012.
The phenomenon of Chinese migrants fleeing China has been dubbed “runxue,” meaning “moistening” in Chinese. It started as a way to bypass censorship and has now become an internet meme. Chinese migrants who cannot obtain visas are finding alternative ways to leave the country, with many showing up at the U.S.-Mexico border to seek asylum. From January to September, the Border Patrol made 22,187 arrests of Chinese nationals crossing the border illegally, a significant increase from the same period in 2022. The number of Chinese arrests peaked in September, making them the ninth-highest nationality at the U.S. border and the highest outside of Mexico, Central, and South America.
The most popular route for Chinese migrants is through Ecuador, which does not require visas for Chinese nationals. Migrants from China join Latin Americans in Ecuador and trek north through the Darién Gap and several Central American countries before reaching the U.S. border. The number of Chinese migrants crossing the Darién Gap has been gradually increasing, with 2,588 crossing in September alone. In the first nine months of this year, Panamanian immigration authorities registered 15,567 Chinese citizens crossing the Darién Gap. This is a significant increase compared to previous years.
Social media platforms and messaging apps play a crucial role in facilitating this migration. They provide video clips, step-by-step guides, and tips on the journey from China to the U.S., including surviving the jungle and dealing with immigration officers. Translation apps also help migrants navigate through Central America, even if they don’t speak Spanish or English. The journey can be expensive, costing thousands to tens of thousands of dollars, funded by family savings or online loans.
The migration pattern has shifted from group travel with the help of smugglers to individual travel with more financial resources. For example, Xi Yan and her daughter Song Siming flew into Mexico via Europe instead of trekking through Ecuador. They crossed the border into the U.S. with the help of a local guide. Xi Yan, a Chinese writer, decided to leave China due to high unemployment rates and harassment from state security agents. Her daughter, Song, who struggled to find work in China, agreed to leave with her. Despite the challenges they face in the U.S., Xi Yan believes it was worth it for the freedom they now have.
Chinese migrants hoping to enter the U.S. at San Diego often wait for Border Patrol agents to pick them up in areas between two border walls or in remote mountains covered with shrubs and boulders. Many migrants are released with court dates in cities near their final destinations, creating a bottlenecked system that takes years to decide cases. Catholic Charities of San Diego provides temporary shelter for migrants, including a significant number of Chinese migrants. However, most Chinese visitors spend less than a day in the shelter before reuniting with their families and heading to other cities like New York and Chicago.
In recent weeks, makeshift encampments filled with Chinese migrants have emerged in the California desert near the border. These migrants wait to turn themselves in to U.S. authorities and make asylum claims. Living conditions are challenging, with limited access to food and water. Volunteers provide basic necessities like bottled water, hot oatmeal, and sandwiches. Despite the difficulties, many Chinese migrants express their happiness and relief at finally being in the U.S., where they hope to find better opportunities and a brighter future.
