Congressman Sounds the Alarm After 17 Chinese Nationals Are Arrested in His Southern District
With the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, worries about the security of the open U.S. border continue to escalate. There are growing concerns about individuals with potential security risks attempting to enter through our vulnerable border.
On Sunday, Rep. Carlos A. Giménez, of Florida, released a statement after 17 individuals from Communist China were detained in Key Largo, which falls within his district.
“As you know that I serve on the House Armed Services Committee but also on the House Select Committee on the competition between the United States and the Communist Chinese Party. And, recently we saw where 17 Chinese Nationals were apprehended in the Florida Keys,” Giménez said.
“Very concerning for me. I mean, I have gotten indication, have gotten information that the Communist Chinese party is getting more and more influence in our hemisphere, especially around South Florida. We know that they’ve got activities going on in Cuba. They also see that they’re doing a lot of infrastructure work also in the Bahamas,” he continued.
“All of this again, very concerning to me,” Giménez added. “Why were they trying to sneak into the country? What was their purpose? Again, I think it’s the first time that we’ve actually apprehended Chinese Nationals in our part of the country,” he said.
According to a press release posted on his website, Giménez has asked Customs and Border Patrol for additional information to evaluate the identities and potential security risks posed by these individuals.
🚨President Biden’s reckless open-border policies have allowed for millions to enter America illegally.
Now, 17 nationals from Communist China have landed in my district, Key Largo, illegally.
I’m demanding answers. pic.twitter.com/D1We1Lw9ze
— Rep. Carlos A. Gimenez (@RepCarlos) October 27, 2023
Giménez is not the first Republican lawmaker to raise such concerns. In September, a group of GOP senators led by Sen. Roger Marshall of Kansas, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, warning that the influx of Chinese migrants likely includes operatives of the ruling Communist Party, posing threats of espionage and cyber attacks.
According to senators, nearly 18,000 Chinese nationals were encountered at the U.S.-Mexico border in fiscal 2023, a nearly tenfold jump from just over 2,000 last year.
The lawmakers accused the Biden administration of recklessly releasing the migrants into the country without proper vetting.
“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,” the senators wrote, according to Fox News.
“It is our understanding that not a single one of these individuals encountered has been detained for any length of time but rather benefited from this administration’s policy of catch and release.”
In October, Biden asked Congress for $105 billion, which included $61.4 billion for Ukraine, $14.3 billion for Israel, $9.15 billion in humanitarian aid for Palestinian, Israeli and Ukrainian citizens, and $7.4 billion for Taiwan and the Indo-Pacific, according to The New York Times.
An additional $13.6 billion was for border patrol officers, immigration judges, shelters and detention centers, and to battle fentanyl smuggling at the Southern border. No money was allocated toward building the wall or fixing the way asylum seekers are processed.
President Biden’s border aid package is not designed to stop the crisis at our southern border. It’s designed to make it worse.
Under President Biden’s watch, America is seeing the highest rates of illegal aliens EVER.#BidenBorderCrisishttps://t.co/umoTqu00Uo
— Senator Ted Cruz (@SenTedCruz) October 24, 2023
The writing is on the wall about the threats to the nation. The attacks on Israel, despite its well-protected border, should have been a wake-up call to even the most tone-deaf politician.
But the Biden administration seems to prefer to put party ideology over national safety.
One can only hope and pray that, unlike the billions of dollars doing nothing to keep us safe, the cost of this strategy is not also paid for by the American people.
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