The Trump administration might threaten China with travel restrictions if that country does not repatriate illegal immigrants faster, according to a new report.
Reuters reported that in 2025, China accepted about 3,000 deportees, but the country's cooperation on the matter has dwindled over the last six months. The wire service noted that for years, China expressed reluctance to take back thousands of citizens who came to the U.S. illegally or deliberately overstayed visas.
The tension over immigration comes just as Trump plans to visit China May 14 and meet with its leader Xi Jinping. CNN reported that Chinese officials were approaching Trump's visit with caution.
"Trump's time in office is likely to have a lasting impact on the world order and has already fundamentally altered how the US views its own interests," a Chinese official told CNN. "Whether his visit is successful or not will have a long-term impact on future arrangements between China and the US, regardless of whether the Democrats or the Republicans come to power."
The ongoing Iran war and the energy issues it has caused globally will be one of the central topics of discussion. However, the U.S. official who spoke to Reuters said Trump also planned to raise the issue of the repatriation of Chinese citizens who are in the U.S. illegally.
"Inaction by the Chinese government will jeopardize future travel for law-abiding Chinese citizens," the official told Reuters.
The officials told Reuters that there are more than 100,000 Chinese illegal immigrants in the U.S. Of those, about 30,000 have final orders for removal, and about 1,500 are actually waiting to be deported.
