In a shocking statement recently, TV personality Dr. Phil McGraw suggests that many of the Chinese immigrants coming through the southern border may be involved in spying. The US has an ongoing trade war with China, and fears about espionage and treason are at an all-time high. Let’s see what provoked Dr. Phil’s statement.
Traveling Down South To See For Himself
Fox News recently played host to Dr. Phil, who discussed his recent experience traveling to the southern border. He went to see for himself what it looked like, and he was shocked at the figures he had been given.
Over the 2023 fiscal year, which terminated in September 2023, there were an estimated 24,000 Chinese nationals detained at the southern border. This is more than the entire decade preceding last year.
Here For a Purpose
Dr. Phil’s statement that drew a lot of raised eyebrows was that the Chinese were there for some nefarious purpose. He suggested that they’re hired to work in agriculture and industry and must do something for their home government.
Dr. Phil’s statements also took aim at the Biden administration’s handling of the situation. He claims that the administration’s lack of funding for defense on the southern border has led to a humanitarian crisis in several states.
Illegal Immigration Is Nothing New
The immigration fight to secure the southern border has been a political talking point for quite a long time. However, in recent years, the amount of people surging across the border has become even more pronounced.
This increase in immigrants comes from political and economic instability in countries past the southern border. Most of the migrants arriving into the US from the southern border have been from Central and South America. It’s a new phenomenon to see so many Chinese migrants coming in.
Chinese Migrants May Be a New Trend
The Chinese government controls a lot of the information coming out of China, but recent reports suggest things are deteriorating. The country’s economy seems to be toppling, and recent collapses of giant corporations like Evergrande have made it difficult for regular citizens.
Young people are no longer as industrious as they were in the past, and the population bottleneck, thanks to their “One Child per Family” legislation of the past, is taking a dire toll on China’s economic situation. Many young people just do not work at all since they see no reason to do it.
Passing Through South America
Tens of thousands of Chinese migrants make their way into the US through the southern border, but where do they come from? Ecuador is the most typical entry point for these migrants since there are no visa requirements for Chinese citizens to enter through their airports.
From there, the migrants travel a well-established route to the southern border and make their way through numerous holes in the fence. However, they’re also getting help from social media to avoid detection from the authorities.
TikTok Is A Huge Advantage
Some migrants who were held entering the border noted that they got information about the holes in the fence from a video on TikTok. Not only is the video outlining where these holes are, but telling migrants exactly how to get to them and use them.
TikTok is also a valuable resource for human smugglers. They use the app to advertise their services to people who may want to make the border crossing with their assistance. TikTok has strong ties to China, and the app has been known to send data back to China without users’ permission.
An Easy Crossing
Smugglers have become so bold that they have mentioned on social media how easy it is for them to cross the US border. Social media has become one of the number-one ways for human smugglers to advertise their services and get in contact with clients.
Between users on the inside helping migrants to get across and smugglers taking advantage of the thinly stretched force on the southern border, it’s no wonder there’s so much illegal immigration happening along the border crossing.
An Unfamiliar Sight Until Recently
Chinese migrants were the fourth-largest nationality after Venezuelans, Ecuadorians, and Haitians. Experts explain that the reason so many Chinese migrants may be entering the country is because of the popularity of the Darién Gap crossing.
Asylum-seekers who have made their way into the US complain about an increasingly repressive government back home. This, coupled with bleak economic prospects, makes it worthwhile to attempt to travel to the US for a better quality of life.
The Pandemic Slowed Travel For Some Time
China, where it’s said the COVID-19 pandemic had its origin, locked its borders for a long time while it dealt with the disease internally. Now that emigration has resumed, hundreds of thousands of people are leaving the country.
The mass exodus has become known as ‘runxue’ – the study of running away. Initially, it was used as a term to get around censorship, but its relationship to the English word “run” has turned it into an internet meme.
Despair For Their Future Fuels Emigration
Many Chinese citizens don’t see happy days in their future. The economic depression, governmental crackdowns, and a lack of work for many trained professionals make it seem like China is not the place for them.
It’s not limited to economic or social class either. The migrants show off a broad cross-section of Chinese society, from white-collar workers to well-off families and everyone in between. Their despair in the future of a prosperous country has led them to flee for the US.
How Likely These Chinese Migrants Are Spies?
The US government has detected some Chinese espionage happening within the US and has cracked down on it. Yet, with so many migrants coming into the country, who’s to say which is a spy and which isn’t?
Statistically, there may be a few people who were sent as spies by the Chinese government, but they have so many better means of getting access to information than planting spies. It’s unlikely that any of these migrants are spies for the Chinese government. They might just be people looking for a better life.
