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FACT BRIEF

Did the number of Chinese citizens encountered at the southwest U.S. border increase by more than 50 times in two years?

By Tom Kertscher
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YES

In 2023, 37,440 Chinese citizens were encountered by authorities at the southwest U.S. border — 54 times more than the 689 in 2021.

Conservative commentator Rachel Campos-Duffy alluded to the increase during a Feb. 7, 2024, podcast with her husband, Sean Duffy, a Republican former congressman from Wisconsin.

CBS News, which reported the increase, said many Chinese migrants said they left to escape a repressive political climate and sluggish economy.

The Associated Press reported the same reasons.

Three years of COVID-19 lockdowns and restrictions left many Chinese unemployed, and many are disillusioned with Communist Party crackdowns on free speech and religion, CNN reported.

The Chinese typically fly into Ecuador, where they don't need a visa, then pay smugglers to guide them through the jungle between Colombia and Panama, The New York Times reported.

Once in the U.S., they turn themselves in to border officials and many seek asylum, the Times reported.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
U.S. Customs and Border Protection Chinese Southwest border encounters
CBS News Chinese migrants are the fastest growing group crossing from Mexico into U.S. at southern border
AP News Takeaways from AP’s reporting on Chinese migrants who traverse the Darién Gap to reach the US
CNN China-US migration: How an underground industry is helping people illegally cross the border
New York Times Growing Numbers of Chinese Migrants Are Crossing the Southern Border
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Wisconsin Watch, the news arm of the nonpartisan, nonprofit Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, increases the quality and quantity of investigative reporting in Wisconsin, while training current and future investigative journalists. Its work fosters an informed citizenry and strengthens democracy.
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Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.