By South China Morning Post | Created at 2024-11-20 09:10:11 | Updated at 2024-11-20 11:29:44
2 hours ago
The US has sent another group of illegal immigrants back to China in the third repatriation flight of its kind in less than six months.
The US Department of Homeland Security said on Monday that the Chinese citizens returned on a chartered flight on Saturday, but did not say how many people were repatriated, where the flight left from or where it landed.
US news outlet Newsweek reported on Tuesday that 109 Chinese nationals were aboard the flight.
The department said the operation was another example of its ongoing cooperation with China and other international partners “to reduce and deter irregular migration through enforcement of immigration law”.
It said the department and its counterparts in China were also continuing joint efforts to counter human smuggling networks.
“Our messaging has been clear: do not believe the lies of smugglers. The United States continues to enforce immigration law, and those without a legal basis to remain will be removed,” it said.
In late June, 116 Chinese nationals were flown back to China from the United States in the first repatriation flight in coordination with China’s National Immigration Administration since 2018.
