It’s now easier than ever for illegal aliens to enter the United States, with an entire global industry springing up to smuggle in people from all over the world. It took me only a few minutes online to access a wealth of information targeted at migrants looking to cross the border and avoid detection by authorities.
Under the Biden-Harris administration, one of the largest groups of new arrivals has been from China. As of May of this year, the number of Chinese nationals illegally crossing the border was up 7,000 percent from 2021 levels, a staggering increase that has led to serious national security concerns given mounting tensions between Beijing and Washington.
Like migrants from other parts of the world, most Chinese migrants have primarily economic motivations for coming to the United States and are simply hoping to take advantage of lax border security. But as the alarming surge in apprehensions of individuals on the FBI’s terrorist watch list at the border shows, an overwhelming surge of migrants is perfect cover for bad actors and potential agents of the Chinese Communist Party.
A quick look online provides a glimpse into the robust global industry that has sprung up around illegal immigration. One Chinese social media channel I viewed provided tips on how to travel to the U.S. border from mainland China. From the comfort of my home, it took me less than 10 minutes to learn how to obtain documents and details about a possible trip to the U.S. border.
Those details included acquiring a passport from a foreign country such as Laos or Vietnam and then illegally crossing the border into Thailand. From there, a new passport with my identity needed to be “activated” by obtaining a visa to El Salvador, Grenada, or Suriname. A trip to a Caribbean nation would enhance the passport’s authenticity, I was told.
Additionally, I could pay extra to be smuggled by “professional” smuggling organizations which have thrived under the Biden-Harris administration. A Chinese online chat provided me with a link to footage of the “service” that would shuttle me close to gaps in the border wall or otherwise smuggle me into the country.
I learned that traveling from central China to San Diego would cost me roughly $13,000, covering all services except airfare to the Americas. These fees included food, lodging, and extra money to bribe government officials and lawyers. Various Chinese sources also assured me that it was “easy even for elders” to cross the border.
As I went to exit out of the web page with this information, I received a message urging me to decide before I left. “Trump’s reforms might reverse favorable conditions,” it warned, explaining that Trump would reintroduce background checks, interviews, and visa restrictions for non-Western countries that Biden removed.
Of course, I am not a Chinese national and have no intention of illegally crossing any borders. But in light of this wealth of information readily available online, it is hardly surprising that tens of thousands of actual Chinese nationals are traveling halfway around the world to enter the United States. There are undoubtedly similarly informative sources for citizens of other countries, including those in Latin and South America that have seen the biggest increases in illegal immigration to the U.S.
Professor of Criminology and Criminal Justice Sylvain Mathieu, who advised the French government in the early 1990s, told me that the schemes to bypass existing U.S. border policies are well-designed and alarmingly effective. He said that a top priority of the next U.S. administration should be pressuring “transit countries” in the Americas to do more to stop illegal immigration – essentially returning to the approach of the Trump administration. “Everyone must know punishment is imminent for facilitating illegal immigration,” he said.
While human smuggling operations are thriving under the open borders policies of the Biden-Harris administration, American communities and law enforcement are reaching a breaking point.
Sheriff Mark Dannels of Cochise County, Arizona, who has met with both Trump and Harris, has described the situation at the border as “the ugliest we’ve ever seen.” He detailed witnessing unmarked vehicles with drivers wearing camouflage ferrying “gotaways” from the border and eluding border patrol with military-style planning and efficiency.
“Building a strong partnership with the White House, Congress, and our governors is essential,” emphasized Dannels, saying that both border patrol and local law enforcement are being stretched beyond the limit of their resources.
The complexity of smuggling operations again speaks to just how severe the problem is. In an appeal to Congress late last month, the American Sheriff Alliance, which represents more than 3,000 sheriff’s offices nationwide, further called the current situation at the border “untenable.” The group noted that unchecked mass illegal immigration is costing U.S. taxpayers about $150 billion annually, in addition to undermining public safety, as seen in high-profile incidents like the tragic killing of nursing student Laken Riley by an illegal alien in Georgia in February.
What has now become evident is that addressing the border crisis is no longer just about securing the border itself – although that remains a necessary and urgent first step. Permanently stemming the flood of illegal aliens will now also require dismantling a vast network of smuggling operations that spans the entire world – a task that will require a president and Congress committed to this mission.
Ben Solis is the pen name of an international affairs journalist, historian, and researcher.
