NORTHERN BORDER INVASION: Chinese nationals arrested crossing into Maine

Border agents in Maine arrested three Chinese nationals while they were illegally crossing the northern border of the US into Maine near Fort Fairfield early on Wednesday morning.  

According to reporting from local outlet Maine Wire, the three unidentified Chinese nationals were crossing the border and got intercepted by authorities with US Customs and Border Protect (CBP).

"After noticing suspicious activity along the border, vigilant Fort Fairfield Border Patrol agents arrested three Chinese nationals attempting to use the cover of darkness to illegally enter the United States. A driver from New York, also a Chinese national who is already in immigration proceedings was also arrested and suspected of attempting to further the illegal entry," a CBP statement read.  

A fourth Chinese national, who was operating a vehicle at the time, was also arrested on suspicions of assisting the others cross the border illegally.  

It was not immediately known if the nationals were part of what the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has called the Asian Transnational Criminal Organizations. 

According to a memo from DHS, these criminal organizations run drug operations through the northern border of Maine. The proceeds of the operations are used to finance human smuggling, drug trafficking, and other criminal enterprises.  

The arrests were made amidst an ongoing increase of Chinese illegal immigrants coming into the US. The apprehension of such foreign nationals has gone up by 4,000 percent at the Mexico border since 2021 when Biden took office.

Biden’s DHS has also lessened the vetting process for these illegal immigrants flooding into the country. The list of interview questions for vetting was cut from 40 to just five. The northern border saw an overall increase in illegal crossings by 550 percent in 2023 alone.