U.S. officials delivered 122 Chinese nationals, including convicted murderers and human smugglers, back to the People’s Republic of China on June 3 aboard a special high-risk charter flight.
According to a news release from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the group included 96 men and 26 women, ranging in age from 19 to 68, from across the U.S., many with criminal convictions.
The deportation effort involved ICE Dallas and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“Through our interagency partnerships and coordination across ICE field offices, we have successfully removed these individuals, many who were convicted of egregious crimes,” said ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas acting Field Office Director Josh Johnson. “Our colleagues at ICE come to work every day to identify, arrest and remove illegal aliens who attempt to circumvent our nation’s immigration laws.”
The flight included Chinese nationals convicted of murder/homicide, lewd/lascivious acts with a minor, human smuggling, rape and drug trafficking.
Notable removals include:
- A 47-year-old male with a conviction for murder.
- A 49-year-old male with a conviction for drug trafficking.
- A 27-year-old male with a conviction for rape.
- A 50-year-old female with a conviction for bribery.
- A 55-year-old male with a conviction for human smuggling.
The deportees were detained at ICE facilities across the country and had final orders for removal for violating U.S. immigration laws, the agency said.
“This operation not only enhances the public safety of our communities across the U.S. but also strengthens national security,” Johnson said.
This isn’t the first flight sending Chinese nationals back to the People’s Republic of China. DHS began the removal flights to China a year ago under the Biden administration, deporting Chinese nationals who did not establish a legal basis to remain.
But the hypocrisy runs deep with Democratic lawmakers, who have hammered the Trump administration for its hardline approach to immigration and used the courts to block his mass deportation efforts.
Yet, Biden’s DHS operated more than 740 international repatriation flights to more than 160 countries—including the PRC, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Egypt, Mauritania, Senegal, Uzbekistan and India—in his final months in office, according to the DHS release.
Along with concerns over the Chinese buying up land near U.S. military bases and infiltrating businesses and research universities, there has been a notable influx of Chinese migrants at the southern border over the past few years.
In 2023, more than 35,000 Chinese migrants traversed the dangerous Darién Gap between Colombia and Panama and entered the US from Mexico—10 times higher than the previous year’s figure.
For years, China has been among the countries that refused or delayed accepting deportees, which made it difficult for the U.S. to remove individuals with final orders.
Members of the public with information can report crimes or suspicious activity by dialing the ICE Tip Line at 866-DHS-2-ICE (866-347-2423) or completing ICE’s online tip form.
