WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senators Thom Tillis, Roger Marshall (R-KS), Mike Braun (R-IN), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), and Marco Rubio (R-FL) recently sent a letter to Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas regarding the 18,000 Chinese nationals that have illegally entered the United States in 2023 through the open Southern border. 

The illegal entry of dedicated Chinese Communist Party (CCP) or People’s Liberation Army (PLA) members represents a serious threat to our national security. In the letter, the Senators demand that Secretary Mayorkas answer for DHS’s failure to control our border, which has allowed the CCP and other hostile foreign nationals to exploit our nation’s borders. 

“We write to you with concern that over 18,000 Chinese nationals have illegally crossed the southern border in Fiscal Year 2023, with some of these individuals having ties to the CCP’s People’s Liberation Army (PLA). July set the record for nationwide encounters with Chinese nationals with just over 6,100. 94.8 percent of Chinese national encounters in FY23 have been single adults. This trend poses a significant threat to our national security and warrants immediate attention and action from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS),” the senators wrote. 

“Furthermore, it is our understanding that not a single one of these individuals encountered has been detained for any length of time but rather benefitted from this administration’s policy of catch and release,” the senators continued.

“Equally concerning, Chinese nationals crossing the border may include individuals who could engage in espionage activities or cyber-attacks against our critical infrastructure, government agencies, or private sector entities. There have been numerous documented instances of Chinese nationals, at the direction of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), engaging in espionage, stealing military and economic secrets,” the senators concluded. 

Read the full letter HERE. 

###