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Panoramic view of the immigration checkpoint in José Falcón, Paraguay, along the border with Argentina. / EPA, Yonhap

Three cases of Chinese nationals entering Argentina illegally have been detected this month alone. Undocumented entry by Chinese citizens into Argentina has occurred continuously since Brazil began allowing visa-free entry for Chinese nationals on May 11.

Chinese nationals entering without a visa are permitted to stay for up to 30 days. It is reported that many undocumented migrants cross into Argentina from Brazil in pursuit of relatively higher earned income.

According to local media outlets such as La Nacion on the 27th local time, the Argentine Naval Prefecture arrested three Chinese nationals who entered illegally in the northeastern city of Formosa on the 25th after acting on a tip. The migration agency decided to repatriate them to Brazil.

A source familiar with the matter explained that the Chinese nationals crossed into Argentina via Paraguay from Brazil, adding that authorities decided to send them back to Brazil, the direct departure point of the illegal entry route.

The investigation was triggered by a report from a taxi driver. He received a call asking him to pick up three Chinese nationals at the border and take them to a long-distance bus terminal, but sensing something suspicious at the time, he alerted the coast guard with the pickup location details.

Coast guard personnel who accompanied the taxi located the three Chinese nationals waiting for the vehicle about 7 km from the Argentina-Paraguay border and checked their identities; while the Chinese nationals carried passports, they failed to present any proof of lawful entry into Argentina.

Local media reported that the rising frequency of illegal entries by Chinese nationals into Argentina recently raises suspicions that smuggling rings may be operating in the area.

The Argentine National Gendarmerie apprehended seven undocumented Chinese nationals at a long-distance bus terminal in Misiones province on the 17th. On the 21st of this month, authorities caught two undocumented Chinese nationals during an inspection at Puerto Iguazú.

Misiones, which borders the world-famous Iguazu Falls, is where the borders of three countries—Argentina, Brazil, and Paraguay—converge, experiencing heavy international transit under normal circumstances.

In July, five Chinese nationals traveling on a long-distance bus bound for La Plata, the capital of Buenos Aires province, were arrested during a highway stop-and-search in Misiones. Authorities repatriated all of them to Brazil.

                                                                                                          Son Young-sik