The U.S. and China are involved in high-level talks to increase the number of Chinese nationals who would be deported from the U.S., Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told NBC News.

American officials have said that China had been previously uncooperative with U.S. efforts to deport Chinese nationals, and the number of migrants from China illegally crossing the U.S.-Mexico border has increased to the tens of thousands over the past two years.

However, Mayorkas said that China's refusal to accept deportations "may be changing."

"We have been working with the People's Republic of China to actually receive individuals whom we have determined are not eligible to remain in the United States," he said.

Mayorkas also raised the issue in February while meeting his Chinese counterpart, Minister of Public Security Wang Xiaohong, in Vienna.

Mayorkas added that he is "hopeful" that the talks will help change the current situation.

"We are in a wait-and-see posture, but we are working with our counterparts," he said. "It's a process."

U.S. Customs and Border Protection logged over 24,000 illegal border-crossings by Chinese nationals in fiscal year 2023, up from just over 2,000 in 2022.

The U.S. has, for years, counted China as part of a group of "recalcitrant" or "noncooperative" countries regarding deportations. This group has included other geopolitical adversaries of the U.S., including Russia, Cuba, and Venezuela.

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