House Republicans investigate whether China is sending military personnel to the U.S. via southern border

The chairman of the Homeland Security Committee in the House of Representatives, Mark Green, condemned the massive arrival of "Chinese nationals, many of them of military age" with ties to the Chinese Communist Party across the southern border. Green is concerned that "we don't know who they are" and warned that this could be a strategy similar to that used by Russia infiltrating soldiers into Ukraine. According to the latest federal data, nearly 12,000 immigrants from China crossed the border illegally between October 2022 and April 2023.

"Threat to national security"

The chairman expressed his fears at the press conference after the session when they announced they were opening an investigation into Alejandro Mayorkas, Secretary of Homeland Security. House Republicans stressed that "Chinese and Russian nationals are of particular concern, given their status as America's most important adversaries and the threat they pose to U.S. national security."

China's lack of cooperation "makes it impossible to investigate" migrants

House Republicans also presented a report on the border situation to justify their initiative to investigate Mayorkas. The report discusses the difficulties in verifying the background of incoming citizens due to the language barrier and the lack of cooperation from the Chinese authorities. The Chinese authorities "do not cooperate with the United States when it comes to providing law enforcement-related data on those apprehended illegally crossing the border, including information on criminal histories or terrorism connections. This makes it effectively impossible to truly vet these individuals—if CBP officials even had the time to do so," the document states.

Arrivals of Chinese nationals soar by more than 900%

In addition, the number of Chinese nationals illegally entering the U.S. "has skyrocketed." There has been a 920% increase compared to 2022. According to Border Patrol data, nearly 12,000 immigrants of this nationality have arrived so far this fiscal year, when in all of 2020 there were 1,236.

The report also echoes an investigation by Fox News reporters Adam Shaw and Bill Melugin in February of this year, which showed "that Chinese nationals are typically processed for expedited removal, unless they claim to have a credible fear of persecution if returned to the country—where the Chinese Communist Party holds power." According to both reporters, "many are claiming that fear and are subsequently being released into the U.S. on their own recognizance and with a notice to appear for a court date for their immigration hearings."

This concerns Republican congressmen because "it is simply unknown how many of those released inside have sinister intentions."