During a press conference to announce an investigation into Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Mark Green, a Republican from Tennessee, he expressed his belief that China is likely deploying military personnel into the United States through the southern border.
Green highlighted that there are Chinese nationals, many of whom are old enough to serve in the military and have connections with the Chinese Communist Party, who have successfully transgressed the southern border and are in the country illegally.
He emphasized the lack of knowledge regarding the identities of these individuals. He drew a parallel to Russia’s strategy of sending military personnel into Ukraine, suggesting that China might employ a similar approach within the United States.
Chairman Green attributed this revelation to a Border Patrol sector chief and mentioned his anticipation of a forthcoming classified briefing.
The House Homeland Security Committee also released a preliminary report on the border, indicating a significant increase in apprehended Chinese nationals.
According to the latest federal data, approximately 10,000 Chinese migrants were encountered at the southern border between October 2022 and April 2023.
In comparison, during the previous fiscal year (October 2021 to September 2022), fewer than 2,200 Chinese migrants were encountered at the border.
According to publicly available data from the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) agency, there has been a notable increase in the number of Chinese nationals encountered at the southern land border in 2023 compared to previous years.
This encounter surge is significant, considering that border crossings were lower in previous years due to pandemic-related restrictions.
Until April of the current fiscal year, which spans from October to September, there have been 9,854 recorded encounters.
This figure demonstrates a substantial rise compared to the number of encounters in February. In 2022, the recorded actions with Chinese nationals amounted to 2,176, highlighting a considerable disparity from the current year’s data.
Out of the encounters with Chinese nationals mentioned earlier, more than 1,500 involved individuals traveling as part of a family unit.
However, most encounters, amounting to 8,304, consisted of single adults.
Unfortunately, specific details regarding the age distribution and the proportion of males in these encounters have not been provided.
Additionally, the government has not publicly disclosed whether any of these individuals were suspected of having ties to Beijing.
