A surge of Chinese nationals crossing the U.S.-Mexico border illegally has set off alarm bells for national security hawks. Over 24,000 were caught in fiscal year 2024 alone, a staggering leap from pre-Biden days, as Fox News reports. This isn’t just a border issue -- it’s a wake-up call.
In fiscal year 2024, U.S. Customs and Border Protection encountered 24,376 Chinese nationals, with 24,214 apprehended, many sneaking between ports of entry. The House Committee on Homeland Security flagged this situation in April 2024, noting an 8,000% spike in March 2024 compared to March 2021. That’s not a typo -- 8,000%.
Before Joe Biden’s term in office, border agents saw about 1,000 Chinese nationals monthly. Under his watch, that number ballooned to 2,000 -- 7,000, hitting a jaw-dropping 8,000 in December 2023. Open borders? More like open season.
Most of these crossings happened outside legal ports, raising eyebrows about motives. Lora Ries, director of the Heritage Foundation’s Border Security and Immigration Center, called the spike “absolutely” a national security concern. Her warning isn’t just hot air -- it’s grounded in numbers.
“The numbers rose rapidly during the Biden administration,” Ries said, pointing to the jump from 1,000 to 8,000 monthly encounters. She ties this to lax policies that rolled out the welcome mat for chaos. Progressive border strategies have consequences, and they’re not pretty.
Ries didn’t stop there. “Given the many tactics that the Chinese Communist Party uses against the U.S.,” she said, citing fentanyl smuggling, spy balloons, and farmland buys near military bases, “we have to assume” bad actors slipped through. Trusting open borders is like trusting a fox in a henhouse.
The border crisis isn’t just about numbers -- it’s about crime. The Department of Justice recently charged seven Chinese nationals with running a multimillion-dollar marijuana trafficking ring. These weren’t small-time dealers; they exploited the border mess for big bucks.
The suspects allegedly smuggled illegal immigrants to work in marijuana grow houses across the Northeast. U.S. Attorney Leah Foley called it a “sprawling criminal enterprise” that used quiet neighborhoods as cover. That’s not community gardening -- it’s organized crime.
“These defendants allegedly turned quiet homes into hubs for a criminal enterprise,” Foley said. She slammed their use of illegal labor for a black-market empire. It’s a stark reminder: weak borders breed bold criminals.
On June 3, ICE deported 122 Chinese nationals back to China. Many had rap sheets -- murder, drug trafficking, rape, human smuggling. These weren’t misunderstood travelers; they were hardened criminals.
The deportation used a “special high risk charter flight,” a clear signal of the threat level. ICE didn’t just send them packing; it sent a message. But is it too little, too late?
The House Committee’s April 2024 report laid bare the scale: 24,214 apprehensions in one year. That’s not a statistic; it’s a crisis. Biden’s border policies turned the frontier into a veritable freeway.
Ries’ warnings about the Chinese Communist Party hit hard. She listed their playbook -- fentanyl precursors, COVID-19 origins, spy balloons, and strategic land grabs. An open border is just another page in that book.
The 8,000% surge in crossings screams policy failure. Pre-Biden, 1,000 monthly encounters were manageable; now, 8,000 in a single month is a national embarrassment. Progressive dreams of borderless bliss are crashing into reality.
National security isn’t a game. When criminal enterprises and potential CCP operatives waltz across the border, it’s time to rethink the open-door experiment. America deserves better than this chaos.
