House GOP to investigate spike in Chinese illegal immigrants

The House Homeland Security Committee’s Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability is set to convene in a hearing next week to address a surge in Chinese illegal immigration 

The hearing called, “Security Risk: The Unprecedented Surge in Chinese Illegal Immigration,” is set to convene May 16 in the House Cannon building.  

Witnesses in the hearing will include Simon Hankinson of the Heritage Foundation, Todd Bonsman of the Center for Immigration Studies, and Craig Singleton of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. 

Since March 2021, the United States has witnessed an unprecedented spike of nearly 8,000% in Chinese illegal immigration. Border agents have encountered over 24,000 Chinese nationals along the southern border in the current fiscal year, with a significant portion of them being military-aged men. 

A recent report revealed that in April 2023, the Biden administration directed US Customs and Border Protection to streamline their vetting process for Chinese migrants, a move believed to have contributed to the surge in arrivals. 

Chairman of the Subcommittee, Representative Dan Bishop, emphasized the national security risks posed by an open border, explaining to the Daily Caller 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,” he said. “As the CCP 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.” 

Former Border Patrol agent Ammon Blair, in an interview with the outlet, likened the situation during the surge of Chinese illegal aliens to a scene from "Red Dawn." He expressed concerns that the current administration’s policies are creating a “Silk Road” for US adversaries. 

“This evolution in policy seems complicit in the CCP invasion and their embedded threats like cyber warfare, drug warfare with Mexican cartel proxies, and economic destabilization,” Blair claimed.