Jeremy Hunt, Media Fellow at the Hudson Institute, said U.S. intelligence agencies should be concerned about the number of Chinese foreign nationals illegally crossing the southern border, increasing by 7,000 percent in the last two years, with the "majority" being "military-age males." Hunt said this in an Op-Ed published by the Hudson Institute.
"Chinese migrants are among the fastest-growing groups illegally crossing the southern border," said Hunt. "Even more concerning, the overwhelming majority of these Chinese migrants are military-age males."
Since 2021, Chinese migrants crossing U.S. borders has increased by 7,000%, with a projected rate of 14,000% by the end of this fiscal year, according to Hunt's op-ed. In 2021, Border Patrol apprehended 342 Chinese foreign nationals the entire fiscal year. That number increased to 24,125 in 2022. The FY2024 number is already higher than 2023, at 24,296 arrests, with six more months left in the fiscal year.
Hunt said the "unique threat" of the CCP should encourage U.S. intelligence agencies to be more concerned with the number of Chinese military-aged males crossing the border. The Department of Homeland Security might want to ask why they are coming. "Such a dramatic change in the number of migrants from our greatest adversary should warrant detailed reports and thorough investigations," Hunt said.
"We know that the migrants use mobile applications like WeChat and Douyin (the Chinese equivalent of TikTok) for instructional videos on how to cross the border," Hunt said, noting the Chinese Communist Party controls both these apps. China has a history of spying on the U.S., with spy balloons, purchasing farmland near military bases, and conducting cybersecurity hack attempts.
There is a surge of Chinese migrants in San Diego County, California, with 24,200 arrests in the past six months, the New York Post reported. Chinese migrants fly from China to Mexico or other Central American countries and make the journey up to the southwest border, paying smugglers. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) has cut down the processing questions for those claiming asylum from 40 to 5, to expedite the process. The Chinese are well-funded, usually "middle-class or upper-middle class," immigration attorney Erika Pinheiro told the New York Post. Most are released into San Diego after being processed for 24-48 hours.
Jeremy Hunt is a media fellow at Hudson Institute, according to the Hudson website. He is a graduate of United States Military Academy at West Point, and is currently commissioned as an active-duty intelligence officer.
