Record number of Chinese nationals illegally crossing into US, latest data shows

The number of Chinese nationals illegally crossing into the United States is spiking, according to the latest data provided by Customs and Border Protection (CBP).

A record-breaking 27,583 Chinese nationals have illegally crossed into the U.S. over the past seven months of fiscal year 2024, according to CBP. There were 24,125 Chinese nationals who illegally crossed in fiscal year 2023, up from the 1,987 who illegally entered in fiscal year 2022.

There were only 342 Chinese nationals who illegally crossed into the U.S. in fiscal year 2021 — meaning illegal immigration into the U.S. from China has increased nearly 8,000% since then, according to the CBP data.

The vast majority of the encounters — 27,135 — have taken place exclusively in the San Diego sector, according to the data. The recent shift of illegal immigration into the western side of the U.S.-Mexico border follows an enforcement crackdown undertaken by Republican Texas Gov. Greg Abbot.

The new numbers come as Republican lawmakers sound the alarm on the threat posed by the influx of Chinese illegal immigrants and the discovery that the Biden administration has watered down the vetting process for them.

The Biden White House oversimplified the vetting process for Chinese illegal immigrants in April 2023, according to an internal CBP email obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The email, which was sent by a supervisor to a “master list” of around 500 Border Patrol agents, instructed CBP officials to reduce the number of interview questions for Chinese immigrants encountered after unlawfully crossing into the U.S. from about 40 to only five.

A Republican-led House Homeland Security subcommittee will hold a hearing on Thursday to examine the factors behind the historic surge in Chinese illegal immigration. North Carolina Republican Rep. Dan Bishop, chair of the subcommittee, told the DCNF that a “wide-open border presents a ripe opportunity for the [Chinese Communist Party] to undermine our national security.”

“This dramatic surge calls for intense scrutiny — especially as Border Patrol agents have been instructed to decrease vetting for Chinese nationals in order to process them into the country faster,” Bishop stated. “As the [Chinese Communist Party] continues its quest for geopolitical dominance and threatens our sovereignty, we must examine the risks presented by releasing ever-increasing numbers of minimally-vetted Chinese nationals into our communities.”

The Heritage Foundation published a report detailing how Chinese-owned entities have increasingly purchased real estate across the country, putting critical U.S. infrastructure at potential risk. Chinese-owned agricultural acreage grew over five-fold between 2011 and 2021, the report found, and Chinese entities have spent over $100 billion acquiring American companies since 2010.

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