China agrees to accept deportees

Washington Times:

The Department of Homeland Security is near an agreement with China to return up to 39,000 Chinese illegally living in the U.S. to the communist country, which previously had refused to accept deportations.
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff yesterday said the tentative agreement, which would let the U.S. deport Chinese illegals as they are arrested, will act as a deterrent to other foreign nationals contemplating illegal immigration.
"We can't be in the position any longer where we are paying the burden and bearing the burden for countries that won't cooperate with us and take their own citizens back," said Mr. Chertoff as he completed a weeklong tour of China, Japan and Singapore to discuss security and immigration issues.
Mr. Chertoff said nearly 700 Chinese nationals held in U.S. detention centers are clogging the system and that more than 38,000 have been released on bond after spending the maximum 180 days in lockup.
China has declined to accept the illegals, citing uncertainty about their identities.
"The Chinese government is resolutely opposed to ... illegal immigration," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao said. "First of all, we have to identify those illegal immigrants and based on that, China is willing to receive the repatriation of illegal immigrants."

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