For once, the Chinese Communist Party and StopTheChinazis.org are on the same side. Sort of. Well, not really.
In a May 30, 2024 column for The Hill on how “China blasts US open borders even as its citizens pour across,” Craig Singleton observes that in just the last few years, the number of Chinese nationals trying to illegally cross from Mexico to the United States “has increased 50-fold, from 689 in 2021 to 37,000 in 2023.” Yes, though it would be more accurate to say that something like these numbers represent the surge in detected attempts by Chinese nationals to cross this border. The numbers are numbers of Chinese migrants who were detained for however long or perhaps only noticed after crossing the border.
This 50-fold surge in the number of detected attempts of Chinese nationals to cross from Mexico into the United States has placed “heightened pressure on America’s border management and national security systems.”
Singleton argues that the crisis “goes beyond a simple immigration issue because it involves sophisticated smuggling networks, potential espionage concerns and a strategic effort by China to exploit and amplify long-standing border challenges for propaganda purposes.”
So we must be “compassionate yet vigilant,” distinguishing between legitimate seekers of asylum and anybody entering the U.S. for the purpose of conducting “potential espionage” for the Chinese government.
“To counter these evolving threats, policymakers need to think creatively about enhancing border security and inter-agency cooperation, with a focus on crafting strategic responses that balance security needs and the humane treatment of all individuals arriving at the border.”
Tall order. To begin to make any headway, would it be helpful to have a federal government concerned about controlling the southern border and doing what it can to learn who is trying to enter the United States through that border?
Singleton says that “the surge presents opportunities for Chinese intelligence operatives, using falsified documentation and other covert means, to bypass already weak border screening protocols.” (Emphasis added.)
I suspect that to strengthen the weak border screening protocols, the first step would have to be wanting to strengthen them. Many border officials and others in government may want to strengthen them. But the members of government currently determining policy apparently do not.
Singleton adds that in its propaganda, China cites the shambles of the Mexico-U.S. border as evidence of “a failing democracy unable to secure its sovereignty.”
Of course, this does not mean that China would prefer the U.S. to more effectively govern its border. If the Chinese Communist Party is able to now pretty easily send agents into the United States by exploiting “border chaos,” this is a situation that suits it just fine.
And then there are the drones crossing the border.
Also see:
New York Post: “Air Force general reveals ‘alarming’ number of drones crossing into US airspace at southern border: ‘Over 1,000 a month’ ”
StopTheChinazis.org: “If Men and Drones Can Cross U.S. Border, Can CCP Men and Drones?”
ThisIsCommonSense.org: “Not Just a Border-Line Case”
Gladstone Institute: “China’s Saboteurs Are Coming to America”
