A border security expert has expressed that the significant increase in illegal Chinese immigrants crossing into the U.S. during the Biden administration raises serious national security issues. Recently, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) deported 122 illegal immigrants back to China, with many having convictions for serious crimes, including murder and drug trafficking. According to officials, this was done via a “special high-risk charter flight.”
On Tuesday, the Justice Department indicted seven Chinese individuals accused of running a multi-million-dollar marijuana trafficking operation. These suspects are alleged to be involved both in drug growing and smuggling illegal immigrants through the U.S.-Mexico border.
U.S. Attorney Leah Foley commented that this case exposes a broad criminal network that exploited the immigration system for personal profit, turning peaceful homes in the Northeast into centers for illicit activities.
Statistics reveal that in 2024, over 24,376 encounters with Chinese nationals occurred at the southwestern border, leading to 24,214 arrests. Notably, March 2024 saw a staggering 8,000% increase in encounters compared to March 2021, based on a report from the House Committee on Homeland Security published in April 2024.
Lora Ries, the director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Patrol and Immigration Center and a former deputy at the Department of Homeland Security, conveyed to Fox News Digital that the influx of Chinese citizens at the southern border represents a considerable national security risk.
She noted that the numbers have surged under the Biden administration, with customs and border authorities now seeing approximately 1,000 Chinese nationals each month, a figure that has surged significantly in the past couple of years. There were reports of over 8,000 encounters in December 2023 alone.
Ries is concerned that the Chinese Communist Party may be leveraging the southern border as a strategy against the U.S., especially during Biden’s tenure.
She raised alarms over various tactics employed by the CCP, including smuggling fentanyl precursors through Mexico, which has contributed to numerous American deaths. Other tactics mentioned include espionage-related activities and land purchases near military bases.
