National Security Concerns Raised as Number of Chinese Military-Age Illegal Immigrants Hits Record High

Illegal immigrants cross into the United States from Mexico to be processed by Border Patrol agents in El Paso, Texas, on May 8, 2023. John Moore/Getty Images

The number of single, military-age Chinese nationals entering the United States illegally so far this fiscal year has already outpaced any prior fiscal year on record, while the latest data from March shows a more than 15,000 percent increase compared to President Donald Trump’s final full month in office.

Amid ongoing tensions with China, there’s been a stream of warnings from lawmakers and border officials about the meteoric rise in the number of Chinese military-age nationals entering the country illegally since President Joe Biden took office, with the numbers hitting staggering levels over the past year or so.

“At best, they’re here for a better life. At worst, they’re here [as] part of the Chinese government to infiltrate our own country,” National Border Patrol Council President Brandon Judd said in a February interview on the “Just the News, No Noise” TV program, not long after data confirmed that December notched a record number (5,248) of Chinese military-aged individuals entering the United States illegally.

While the numbers have eased from December’s record high, they remain alarmingly high. The latest data from U.S. Customs and Border Patrol (CBP) shows that the total number of single Chinese adults encountered crossing the border illegally in March was 1,523.

That may be a significant drop from the recent peak but it still represents a 15,130 percent increase compared to President Trump’s final full month in office (December 2020), when 10 such individuals who were encountered.

More generally, during the last three full months of the Trump presidency, there was an average of just over nine Chinese single adults encountered by border patrol agents.

Some analysts say that deteriorating economic conditions in China, along with human rights abuses and policies such as draconian COVID-19 lockdowns, are a likely factor behind the increase.

However, Mr. Judd and others have warned that this relatively innocuous trend could be exploited by Chinese military intelligence.

“Why are we seeing this influx?” he said in the February interview. “At best, they’re just coming here for a better life or a better job. At worst, they’re coming here [as] part of the Chinese government, and that’s what scares me an awful lot.”

Commenting on the March figures was Florida state Rep. Brian Mast, a Republican, who called it a threat to national security.

“China’s true intention is to use every tool possible to undermine the United States,” he said in a post on X. “That includes our porous southern border. Illegal border crossings by Chinese nationals are skyrocketing. This is a national security threat.”

‘China’s Literally Invading The United States’: Fitton

The number of Chinese adults entering the United States illegally (excluding an unknown number of gotaways) grew tenfold over President Biden’s first year in the White House, from 6 in January 2021 to 61 in January 2022.

In his second year in office, that number rose by 1,467 percent—from 61 in January 2022 to 956 in January 2023—before more than tripling to 3,220 in January 2024.

The current fiscal year (which began in October 2023) has already set a record for the number of military-age Chinese nationals entering the United States without authorization.

CBP data shows that 20,868 such individuals were encountered by border patrol agents in the fiscal year to date. By comparison, in the full prior fiscal year (October 2022–September 2023), there were 20,831 such individuals encountered.

Single adults represents the majority of illegal border crossers of Chinese nationality, with the March 2024 figure of 1,523 representing nearly three-quarters of the total 2,063 Chinese nationals encountered by border agents.

Tom Fitton, President of Judicial Watch, blamed the Biden administration’s inaction on the border for the stark numbers while suggesting that the Chinese regime may be exploiting the porous border.

“Don’t get me started about the Chinese illegal aliens crossing,” Mr. Fitton said in a video posted on X. “You think that’s an accident? You think they’re just showing up as migrants? Oh no, that' a Chinese communist government operation.”

“China’s literally invading the United States through these illegal aliens, crossing our border, and Biden isn’t doing anything about it,” Mr. Fitton continued.

A group of more than 1,000 illegal immigrants walks toward a U.S. Border Patrol field processing center after they crossed the Rio Grande from Mexico in Eagle Pass, Texas, on Dec. 18, 2023. John Moore/Getty Images

Sen. Eric Schmitt (R-Mo.) was similarly critical, pointing out in an interview with Fox News’ Laura Ingraham that the number of Chinese nationals crossing the border illegally has surged exponentially under President Biden, calling it part of an intentional “open borders” agenda.

“It’s the consequence of having an open border,” he said. “They’ve wanted this and we’re getting exactly what they desired, which is you have no enforcement, you’ve got Chinese nationals now being caught at military installations, potentially spying on our military.”

Mr. Schmitt was referring to a recent incident involving an illegal immigrant from China who was arrested after sneaking onto the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center in Twentynine Palms, California—the largest Marine Corps base in the country—and ignoring orders to leave.

That breach came amid numerous instances of Chinese nationals infiltrating U.S. military bases over the past several years. For instance, two Chinese nationals were arrested for illegally entering and taking photos at a U.S. Navy base in Florida in 2020, and a recent report by The Wall Street Journal estimates that there have been more than 100 similar incidents over the past few years.

Republicans have blamed President Biden’s policies for fueling the border crisis while calling for measures such as ending the Biden administration’s contentious “catch-and-release” policy, expanding expedited removals, renewing border wall construction, and reinstating the Trump-era “Remain in Mexico” policy.

The White House did not respond to a request for comment on the record number of military-aged Chinese illegal immigrants encountered by border patrol nor on the GOP criticism.