The Growing Problem of Smuggling of Chinese

Lawndale News Chicago's Bilingual Newspaper - Commentary

by Daniel Nardini

It is becoming an increasing problem. They are coming through the Mexican border. They are coming through the Canadian border. They are coming in cargo ships and even as legal passengers on airplanes only to stay well past their visas. Even with the growing wealth and affluence in China, there are still hundreds of millions of people who have been left out of the burgeoning Chinese economy. Under these circumstances, what will they do? Many Chinese go to other parts of Asia to “escape.” But many countries in Asia have made ever tougher laws to prevent mass migration of Chinese into their countries. European countries have been doing the same. In increasing desperation, many Chinese have been going to Canada and the United States.

Interestingly enough, Mexican drug cartels have now found it lucrative to smuggle Chinese through Mexico into the United States. Before, smuggling Mexicans or people from Central America would have cost $2,000 to $5,000. With increased border security in the United States, this was no longer lucrative and smuggling illicit drugs was far, far more profitable. With Chinese nationals willing to pay anywhere $10,000 to $70,000, the whole smuggling process has become highly profitable again. However, it should be noted that once in the United States or Canada, these people are forced into bondage slavery where they must work to pay for the money they borrowed to be smuggled. This can take years, decades and even the entire lifetime of a person. These undocumented are forced to work in a variety of places and all too often under dangerous conditions.

While many may decry these people being imprisoned if caught, is it more cruel than being bondage slaves forced to work off the money they owe to the Mexican drug cartels or Chinese criminal triads? If somehow they cannot pay off their debts they might be tortured or killed and if they escape their families might be taken hostage by the Chinese triads. There is no way that building a wall between the United States and Mexico will stop this smuggling. It has been shown that criminal smugglers can go under, around and even through any border walls or fences that exist now (there are cases where drug cartels actually have cut holes into the walls and fences and have long dug tunnels to smuggle both undocumented and illicit drugs through into the United States). The growing problem of smuggling Chinese nationals into the United States requires the aid and cooperation of both the Canadian and Mexican governments to stop this. The smuggling criminal organizations have shown that they do not respect borders to move people illegally from one location to the other, and so this is something that cannot be handled by any one government.

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