Trump claims Chinese migrants in US to build an ‘army.’ They say they’re in America, ‘to make money’, not fight for China
- In 2023, US authorities arrested more than 37,000 Chinese nationals at the US-Mexico border, more than 10 times the previous year
- Trump and other Republicans have sought to paint them as a coordinated group of military-age’ men who have come to build an ‘army’ and attack America
It was 7am on a recent Friday when Wang Gang, a 36-year-old Chinese immigrant, jostled for a day job in New York City’s Flushing neighbourhood.
When a potential employer pulled up near the street corner, Wang and dozens of other men swarmed around the car. They were hoping to be picked for work on a construction site, at a farm, as a mover – anything that would pay.
Wang had no luck, even as he waited for two more hours. It would be another day without a job since he crossed the southern US border illegally in February.
The daily struggle of Chinese immigrants in Flushing is a far cry from the picture former President Donald Trump and other Republicans have sought to paint them as a coordinated group of “military-age” men who have come to the United States to build an “army” and attack America.
Since the start of the year, as the Chinese newcomers adjust to life in the US, Trump has alluded to “fighting age” or “military age” Chinese men at least six times and suggested at least twice that they were forming a migrant “army.” The talking point also appears in conservative media and on social platforms.