by Reporter Linda Garrett
lgarrett@kgun9.com
Nogales, AZ - China is half way around the world, but the distance isn't stopping Chinese people from paying top dollar to enter the U.S. Illegally.
In fact, the number of Chinese immigrants caught in the Arizona desert is up nearly 10 fold in the last year.
The numbers indicate a new face of illegal immigration is quickly emerging.
"They want to come for a better life," said Border Patrol Spokesperson Mario Escalante.
And it includes a group of people who travel thousands of miles and risk everything for a chance at the American Dream.
"It's quite a significant increase and everyday we continue to see a number being apprehended on a daily basis," added Escalante.
Chinese immigrants belong to a category known to the Border Patrol as OTM's: Other Than Mexicans.
Each week about 100 Chinese immigrants are captured trying to cross the border.
Both Escalante and Eduardo Preciado from Immigration Customs Enforcement believe the reason is simple - cash.
"Someone decided that there's more money to be made with the smuggling of Chinese then someone from Guatemala or El Salvador," said Preciado.
The cost is staggering. Typically, Mexican nationals pay their smugglers about $1,500 to $3,000 for help crossing the Arizona desert while Central and South Americans will fork over $6,000 a piece. But the Chinese pay the most.
"I was told it ranges anywhere from 50-80 thousand dollars," said court interpreter Peter Chan.
Chan is a second generation Chinese-American who speaks both mandarin and Cantonese. Several years ago he began contract work as a Chinese interpreter for the state and federal courts. Because of the number of immigration cases now being heard, he says his position has turned into nearly a full time job.
"I don't think it's going to slow down unless the government steps in and tries to work with other countries to stop the process," added Chan.
Chan says many of the people he sees are 19 and 20 years old, most are from the southeastern province of Fujian which is an area hit hard by a poor economy and the majority already have a family member living in the U.S.
"Can't blame them for trying to get a better life, but it is a very high price to pay. I would definitely think it's dangerous, because when you travel 8 to 10,000 miles from home, and most don't speak English, that's got to be a very horrifying experience," he said.
An experience that typically begins in Beijing with a stop in Rome. From there the Chinese often travel to a country with lenient visa policies such as Venezuela and then move into Mexico City before crossing the border into Arizona and traveling to large cities like New York and Los Angeles.
The total travel distance is about 16,000 miles. That's the same as traveling across country 6 times over.
Authorities tell us when they're caught they're often found crossing the desert, hiding in gulches or inside their smuggler's cars. They say most if not all are sent to one of two detention centers. One in Florence or another in Eloy where it can take up to one or two months to be granted asylum or be deported back to China.
On this particular day -
"We have 149 Chinese in this facility.That's more than we've had over the last 4 to 5 months," said Preciado.
And more trickle in everyday sometimes by the hour.
Immigration officials warn that if nations such as Ecuador, Venezuela and Honduras continue to offer lenient visa policies immigrants from all over the world could continue to become part of new wave of high-priced human smuggling.
