US sends second flight of migrants back to China for repatriation
Homeland Security Department confirms 131 deportees are aboard amid the rise of immigration as a defining issue of US presidential election
The US has conducted a second large flight to China, an effort it said demonstrated its “continued commitment to pursuing sustained cooperation” with Beijing on reducing undocumented migration.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed on Friday that 131 Chinese nationals were aboard the flight, which departed on Tuesday, in the second removal of Chinese nationals from the US this year. The department did not disclose where the flight took off from or where in China it would land.
The latest flight took place three weeks before the US presidential election pitting Vice-President Kamala Harris against former president Donald Trump, in which immigration and border policy has played a large role.
In June, the first large flight since 2018 was conducted, which the DHS said was carried out in close coordination with China’s National Immigration Administration. The department later said that 116 Chinese nationals were aboard that flight.
“Intending migrants should not believe the lies of smugglers – Chinese nationals without a legal basis to remain in the United States are subject to swift removal,” Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said on Thursday.
“The Department of Homeland Security will continue to strengthen consequences for individuals unlawfully entering our country and enforce our nation’s laws.”
