Number of Chinese migrants illegally crossing southern border up 700%

 The number of Chinese migrants illegally crossing the southern border into the United States in the last three months is currently up more than 700% compared to the same period in 2021, according to Customs and Border Protection data, the New York Post reported.

The CBP’s reporting showed that in the 2022 fiscal year, 2,176 Chinese nationals were encountered at the southern border. In the previous fiscal year, 450 were apprehended, and in 2020, 1,768 were encountered.

So far, in only the first three months of the 2023 fiscal year, southern border patrol agents have reported 1,915 Chinese migrants attempting to enter the country from the U.S.-Mexico border.

In December 2022, 950 Chinese nationals were caught at the border compared to 73 the previous year.

An overwhelming majority of Chinese migrants are single adults.

On Tuesday, Tucson Sector Chief Patrol Agent John Modlin told lawmakers during a Congressional hearing that he has “tremendous concern” that previously deported felons and potential terrorists are among the “gotaways” slipping into the United States.

Modlin noted an influx of migrants crossing the southern border once President Joe Biden took office.

“Interviewing [migrants] post-arrest, what became the most common response was that they believed that when the administration changed, the policy changed, and that there was an open border,” Modlin stated.

A Department of Homeland Security source told Fox News that 15 Chinese nationals who attempted to cross into the U.S. in the Rio Grande Valley sector were placed in custody as of Wednesday. The source stated that the detained individuals range in age from their 20s to their 50s.

Texas recently apprehended three Chinese immigrants who had each paid human smugglers $35,000 to enter the United States. Smugglers usually charge Chinese nationals higher rates, the outlet reported.

The nationals are typically quickly sent back to China unless they claim to have a credible fear of persecution if returned. Those seeking asylum in the U.S. are released into the country on their own recognizance and provided an immigration hearing court date.

From October through December, the Border Patrol agents at the southern border encountered over 700,000 migrants.

The DHS told Fox News Digital that officials are monitoring the southern border for potential spies and other national security threats.