Biden Administration Defends Chinese Visa Waiver Amid National Security Risk Warning

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) speaks during a press conference following a Senate Republican luncheon at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, on Sept. 28, 2022. Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images

The Biden administration is defending its visa policy that allows Chinese nationals to enter U.S. territory, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), without a visa in response to a call from U.S. lawmakers to close visa loopholes that might be exploited by Chinese spies.

In a letter to lawmakers earlier this month, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) cited a law requiring the department to identify countries that contribute significantly to the CNMI’s economy through tourism. In 2009, the DHS determined that China met this economic threshold.

As a result, Chinese nationals are granted visa waiver program status and can travel to the island under “temporary visit for business or pleasure for up to 14 days” but “are not authorized for employment.”

Last year, in a letter dated Nov. 30, 2023, to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, more than 30 lawmakers expressed their concerns over national security risks as more Chinese nationals can enter the Northern Mariana Islands without a visa.

The lawmakers warned that this visa policy makes the islands vulnerable to various threats, including drug trafficking, illegal immigration, and organized crime. They called on the DHS to change this policy and emphasized the importance of deterring “the Chinese Communist Party aggression, espionage, and transnational repression.”

DHS official Zephranie Buetow explained that Chinese nationals visiting the Northern Mariana Islands cannot travel to other U.S. destinations.

“DHS remains vigilant in its screening and vetting duties, which focus on rooting out exploitation of our immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processes, including by identifying, and where necessary denying entry to, high-risk travelers,” Ms. Buetow said.

Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa), a Senate Armed Services Committee member and co-signer of last year’s letter, criticized the DHS’s explanations.

“Instead of listening to my calls to close this gap and prevent further [Chinese Communist Party] espionage, the Biden administration dragged their feet for four months and now is defending an outdated policy,” she told the New York Post.

“Make no mistake, they are putting our military secrets at risk. We must change this visa policy and put an end to Chinese nationals accessing our military installations on U.S. territories for any malign activity.”

Northern Mariana Islands became a part of U.S. territory in 1986. It consists of 14 islands in the northwestern Pacific Ocean and is located very close to the strategic island of Guam.

Guam, the westernmost U.S. territory, hosts Naval Base Guam, the Navy’s sole submarine base in the Western Pacific, and Andersen Air Force Base, a large air base equipped with strategic bombers and fighters. The island also houses more than 20,000 U.S. troops.

Last month, the United States imprisoned a Chinese citizen for conspiring to transport illegal immigrants to Guam from the Northern Mariana Islands.

“Most of the PRC nationals had no lawful status to be in the CNMI, and none of them were authorized to go to Guam,” the Justice Department said in a statement.

“Unlawful travel by foreign nationals from the CNMI to Guam is a recurring problem,” U.S. Attorney Shawn Anderson said. “It is an abuse of CNMI parole provisions within our federal immigration system.”

Last year, the Northern Mariana Islands also sentenced a Chinese national to 51 months in prison for meth trafficking on the island.

Illegal Chinese Immigrants Increasingly Entering the US

The U.S. southwest border has seen a huge surge in Chinese nationals, with 30,000 entering the United States without a legal pathway since Oct. 1, 2023, according to border protection authorities.

Chinese illegal immigrants are pouring across the border in greater numbers than they were at this time last year, according to figures released by Customs and Border Protection on Jan 13, raising concerns about national security.

The vast majority, roughly 20,000, of the Chinese nationals crossed through the U.S. southern border, with most of them entering through California. As a comparison, the total number of encounters with Chinese nationals at the southern border over the same time period of October 2020–January 2021 was 55.

Savannah Pointer contributed to this report.