In addition to viral dances and confounding content churned out by Gen Z influencers, TikTok has been — for a while — used by the Chinese Communist Party to shape narratives, influence Americans, and undermine the United States. Such operations have included spurring glowing reviews of bloodthirsty terrorist Osama bin Laden's screed against the West. Now, as explained in a new report on the surge of Chinese nationals unlawfully entering the U.S., it's clear how TikTok is being used to help illegal immigrants — especially those making the 7,000-mile-plus journey from China — get to and illegally cross into the U.S. from Mexico.
Of the record-breaking surge of illegal immigrants taking place as a result of Biden's unsecured, wide-open border, Chinese nationals are the "fastest growing group," according to the report on "60 Minutes." The show traveled to and witnessed "large groups, including many from the middle class, come through a four-foot gap at the end of the border fence 60 miles east of San Diego" by "[d]ucking under a bit of razor wire and into the United States."
At the other end of the U.S.-Mexico border near McAllen, Texas, last month National Border Patrol Council Vice President Chris Cabrera told Townhall that he's used to seeing "a dozen" Chinese national illegal immigrants in an average day and that China remains the most common country of origin outside of Central American nations. Clearly, the phenomenon of Chinese nationals constituting an increasing portion of illegal immigrants is widespread. So, how are they ending up several thousand miles from home at the U.S.-Mexico border? TikTok.
From "60 Minutes":
We wondered how all of these migrants…knew about this particular entryway into California.
The answer was in their hands.
Translator: TikTok, TikTok.
Sharyn Alfonsi: Oh you learned on TikTok.
TikTok is a social media platform created in China. The posts we found had step-by-step instructions for hiring smugglers and detailed directions to that hole we visited.
We were struck by just how orderly and routine it all seemed. The migrants walked about a half mile down a dirt road and waited in line for U.S. Border Patrol to arrive so they could surrender.
For violent cartels in Mexico, the influx of Chinese nationals seeking to illegally enter the U.S. has been a boon. And with, according to CBS News, a 55 percent grant rate for asylum claims made by illegal immigrants from China (other nationalities average just 14 percent) it's no wonder the demand for passage to the border continues to surge.
The illegal immigrants CBS News talked to included one who traveled through Thailand, Morocco, Ecuador, Columbia, Panama, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua on the journey to Mexico and its border with the U.S. Others showed up with "rolling bags" fresh off direct flights to Mexico, others choose to fly from their home country to Ecuador ("it doesn't require a visa for Chinese nationals") then flew to Mexico where "they connected with smugglers, or what they call snake heads, in Tijuana."
Videos on TikTok are providing migrants with step-by-step instructions for hiring a smuggler and illegally entering America through a small gap in the southern border fence. https://t.co/WbQBF6SSUE pic.twitter.com/mIGhEjBYox
— 60 Minutes (@60Minutes) February 5, 2024
Stating the obvious of the invitation created by Biden's open border, "60 Minutes" explained that with "the odds in their favor, and a phone to guide them, there's little to discourage more Chinese migrants from coming through the gap" in the border wall east of San Diego. Of course, when asked by CBS News, CBP said its "agents don't have authority to stop people from coming through gaps like this one and can only arrest them after they've entered illegally."