More Chinese ditching Xi’s 'Chinese Dream' for an American one

Chinese migrants are making long and dangerous journeys through Latin America to reach the U.S.-Mexico border. For them, the American dream is worth risking everything they have.

Helen Raleigh is a senior contributor to The Federalist, author of "Confucius Never Said," and of "Backlash: How China's Aggression Has Backfired." Follow her on Twitter: @HRaleighspeaks.

For Chinese nationals who seek to escape China, coming to the U.S. through Latin America is a protracted, expensive and perilous journey. 

The 2,300-mile trek usually begins with Chinese nationals flying to Ecuador, one of the few South American countries they can enter visa-free. From Ecuador, Chinese with means typically pay about $60,000 or more for "more direct or safer smuggling routes, such as air passage to Mexico, where 'snakehead agents’ bribe customs officials to let Chinese in with forged travel documents," according to the Wall Street Journal.