Chinese May Be ‘Probing’ American Military Readiness Through Base Breaches, Lawmaker Says
June 14, 2024
Updated:
June 18, 2024
As more Chinese and nationals from adversarial nations cross the border, national security concerns have risen, especially as military bases are being breached.
Fears of attacks on the homeland and foreign espionage stemming from the border crisis are growing in light of illegal immigrants breaching military bases as well as those with suspected terrorist ties.
On June 11, news broke that eight Tajikistan nationals with possible connections to the terrorist group ISIS had been arrested in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles in recent days.
Tajikistan nationals were responsible for the March 22 attack on the Crocus City Hall concert near Moscow that left more than 140 people dead and hundreds injured.
The individuals in the United States were being tracked by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. They were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on immigration violation charges, according to wire agency reports.
The suspects crossed the U.S. southern border illegally in 2023 and were released after being vetted. The federal government’s screening process did not turn up any information that would have identified them as potential terrorists with ties to ISIS.
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), who sits on the National Security, the Border and Foreign Affairs subcommittee, said that wiretap information revealed that one of the Tajikistan suspects was discussing “bombs.”
“That’s scary. The vetting is a joke,” he said in an exclusive interview with The Epoch Times.
The incident highlights an increase in foreign nationals from adversarial nations encountered at the U.S. southern border from 180 different countries that include state sponsors of terrorism.
One of the fastest-growing groups of illegal immigrants arriving from hostile countries is China.
In the first seven months of this fiscal year, beginning October 2023, border agents have apprehended 48,500 Chinese illegal immigrants, which stands to smash the 2023 fiscal year’s record of 52,700.
At the same time, Chinese nationals and others from adversarial nations have increasingly been caught attempting to access America’s military bases.
The breaches sparked Mr. Fallon’s subcommittee to hold a classified hearing in May titled: “Intruder Alert: Assessing the CCP’s Ongoing Infiltration of U.S. Military Installations.”[/b]
Mr. Fallon described what he heard in the closed hearing as concerning.
Dozens of incidents have come to light of Chinese nationals snapping photos near military installations and critical infrastructure such as reservoirs, claiming to be tourists—even when the facilities are rural and isolated, he said.
Mr. Fallon noted that Navy Adm. Daryl Caudle said in a recent interview that incidents of foreign nationals from China and Russia trying to breach Navy bases occur “two or three times a week.”
“There are some folks in positions of authority and power that want to stick their heads in the sand and say, ‘Oh, there’s nothing here,’” he said.
It could be that the Chinese are probing how the United States responds and how close they can get to bases, he said.
That information would be critical, for example, should there be a conflict between China and the United States over Taiwan.
While the majority of Chinese nationals coming into the United States may be looking for a better life, even if 1 percent were communist “sleeper agents,” that would give Beijing about 480 operatives, he said.
Mr. Fallon said he doesn’t think the record-breaking number of Chinese nationals entering the United States illegally is an accident.
“That is a sky-high number when you consider under the Trump administration, it was under 1,000,” he said.
In fiscal year 2020, Border Patrol agents apprehended 554 Chinese illegal immigrants nationwide, according to government data.
“So I unfortunately believe that there’s going to be something awful that happens from an incident like this,” Mr. Fallon said.
More than 9 million illegal immigrant encounters have been documented nationwide by Border Patrol since the beginning of 2021.
Additionally, officials estimate hundreds of thousands of unknown “gotaways” who aren’t seeking asylum have illegally crossed the southwest border.
Republicans have long complained that President Joe Biden created the border crisis by rescinding policies under the Trump administration, such as “Remain in Mexico,” where asylum-seekers waited in Mexico while their cases were pending.
But Democrats have downplayed mass illegal migration and have blamed global political and economic instability for the border crisis.
House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability member Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) said during the hearing last month that America’s immigration system was “broken” and implied racism was the reason behind opposition to migration.
Simon Hankinson is a senior research fellow at the Center for Border Security and Immigration for the Heritage Foundation who worked as Consul with the State Department during the Trump administration.
Chinese nationals crossing the border gives Beijing a larger pool of citizens to potentially strong-arm into spying, even if it involves unsophisticated attempts, he said.
“We let everybody come in. So we are accepting a level of risk that we shouldn’t,” Mr. Hankinson told The Epoch Times.
Foreigners trying to gain access to military bases grabbed the attention of the House Homeland Security Committee, which quickly launched an investigation into a May 3 breach of the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
According to a committee news release, two Jordanian nationals drove a truck to the main gate of Quantico, where guards attempted to redirect it after the two men failed to produce access credentials.
The driver ignored the guards’ orders and moved the truck forward until officers stopped the truck by deploying vehicle denial barriers. The release said that the two individuals were detained and turned over to ICE.
One of the individuals apprehended at Quantico reportedly crossed the U.S. southern border illegally and appeared on the terrorist watch list.
The Homeland Security Committee pointed out in a letter to defense and intelligence agencies that hundreds of illegal immigrants on the terrorist watch list had been apprehended attempting to enter the United States since 2021.
(Article continues………..)
https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/chinese-may-be-probing-american-military-readiness-through-base-breaches-lawmaker-says-5668498?ea_src=frontpage&ea_med=premium-carousel-6
June 14, 2024
Updated:
June 18, 2024
As more Chinese and nationals from adversarial nations cross the border, national security concerns have risen, especially as military bases are being breached.
Fears of attacks on the homeland and foreign espionage stemming from the border crisis are growing in light of illegal immigrants breaching military bases as well as those with suspected terrorist ties.
On June 11, news broke that eight Tajikistan nationals with possible connections to the terrorist group ISIS had been arrested in New York, Philadelphia, and Los Angeles in recent days.
Tajikistan nationals were responsible for the March 22 attack on the Crocus City Hall concert near Moscow that left more than 140 people dead and hundreds injured.
The individuals in the United States were being tracked by the FBI’s Joint Terrorism Task Force. They were taken into custody by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) on immigration violation charges, according to wire agency reports.
The suspects crossed the U.S. southern border illegally in 2023 and were released after being vetted. The federal government’s screening process did not turn up any information that would have identified them as potential terrorists with ties to ISIS.
Rep. Pat Fallon (R-Texas), who sits on the National Security, the Border and Foreign Affairs subcommittee, said that wiretap information revealed that one of the Tajikistan suspects was discussing “bombs.”
“That’s scary. The vetting is a joke,” he said in an exclusive interview with The Epoch Times.
The incident highlights an increase in foreign nationals from adversarial nations encountered at the U.S. southern border from 180 different countries that include state sponsors of terrorism.
One of the fastest-growing groups of illegal immigrants arriving from hostile countries is China.
In the first seven months of this fiscal year, beginning October 2023, border agents have apprehended 48,500 Chinese illegal immigrants, which stands to smash the 2023 fiscal year’s record of 52,700.
At the same time, Chinese nationals and others from adversarial nations have increasingly been caught attempting to access America’s military bases.
The breaches sparked Mr. Fallon’s subcommittee to hold a classified hearing in May titled: “Intruder Alert: Assessing the CCP’s Ongoing Infiltration of U.S. Military Installations.”[/b]
Mr. Fallon described what he heard in the closed hearing as concerning.
Dozens of incidents have come to light of Chinese nationals snapping photos near military installations and critical infrastructure such as reservoirs, claiming to be tourists—even when the facilities are rural and isolated, he said.
Mr. Fallon noted that Navy Adm. Daryl Caudle said in a recent interview that incidents of foreign nationals from China and Russia trying to breach Navy bases occur “two or three times a week.”
“There are some folks in positions of authority and power that want to stick their heads in the sand and say, ‘Oh, there’s nothing here,’” he said.
It could be that the Chinese are probing how the United States responds and how close they can get to bases, he said.
That information would be critical, for example, should there be a conflict between China and the United States over Taiwan.
While the majority of Chinese nationals coming into the United States may be looking for a better life, even if 1 percent were communist “sleeper agents,” that would give Beijing about 480 operatives, he said.
Mr. Fallon said he doesn’t think the record-breaking number of Chinese nationals entering the United States illegally is an accident.
“That is a sky-high number when you consider under the Trump administration, it was under 1,000,” he said.
In fiscal year 2020, Border Patrol agents apprehended 554 Chinese illegal immigrants nationwide, according to government data.
“So I unfortunately believe that there’s going to be something awful that happens from an incident like this,” Mr. Fallon said.
More than 9 million illegal immigrant encounters have been documented nationwide by Border Patrol since the beginning of 2021.
Additionally, officials estimate hundreds of thousands of unknown “gotaways” who aren’t seeking asylum have illegally crossed the southwest border.
Republicans have long complained that President Joe Biden created the border crisis by rescinding policies under the Trump administration, such as “Remain in Mexico,” where asylum-seekers waited in Mexico while their cases were pending.
But Democrats have downplayed mass illegal migration and have blamed global political and economic instability for the border crisis.
House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability member Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.) said during the hearing last month that America’s immigration system was “broken” and implied racism was the reason behind opposition to migration.
Simon Hankinson is a senior research fellow at the Center for Border Security and Immigration for the Heritage Foundation who worked as Consul with the State Department during the Trump administration.
Chinese nationals crossing the border gives Beijing a larger pool of citizens to potentially strong-arm into spying, even if it involves unsophisticated attempts, he said.
“We let everybody come in. So we are accepting a level of risk that we shouldn’t,” Mr. Hankinson told The Epoch Times.
Foreigners trying to gain access to military bases grabbed the attention of the House Homeland Security Committee, which quickly launched an investigation into a May 3 breach of the Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia.
According to a committee news release, two Jordanian nationals drove a truck to the main gate of Quantico, where guards attempted to redirect it after the two men failed to produce access credentials.
The driver ignored the guards’ orders and moved the truck forward until officers stopped the truck by deploying vehicle denial barriers. The release said that the two individuals were detained and turned over to ICE.
One of the individuals apprehended at Quantico reportedly crossed the U.S. southern border illegally and appeared on the terrorist watch list.
The Homeland Security Committee pointed out in a letter to defense and intelligence agencies that hundreds of illegal immigrants on the terrorist watch list had been apprehended attempting to enter the United States since 2021.
(Article continues………..)
https://www.theepochtimes.com/article/chinese-may-be-probing-american-military-readiness-through-base-breaches-lawmaker-says-5668498?ea_src=frontpage&ea_med=premium-carousel-6
» Will the state adopt the provision of sovereign guarantees to finance private industrial projects?
» Why did Bitcoin start a new downward path?
» MM&C Central Bank: Cancellation of Paragraph (5/d) of the instructions and standards for circulation
» Austria supports deportation of immigrants, including Iraqis, to their country
» Parliamentary Oil Committee comments on the failure of producing provinces to receive petrodollar du
» Al-Badri: The Aqaba pipeline represents a reward for American companies
» Al-Lami: Parliament is dying because of the Sunni parties
» The second within a week.. The Council of Ministers issues decisions related to investment, heritage
» Integrity monitors waste by building residential homes in a company affiliated with the Ministry of
» Al-Awadi: The Council of Ministers approves contracts with private sector companies to supply energy
» As a result of the security prosecution...a parliamentary committee indicates a decrease in oil smug
» Iraq announces the inclusion of 3,500 workers in optional social security during 2024
» Al-Sudani's advisor gives good news to young people: Many job opportunities await you
» The President of the Republic approves the 2024 Budget Law schedules
» After resolving the salary dilemma, a new popular crisis is haunting the Kurdistan government
» Integrity: Monitoring waste in building floors for a public company in Muthanna
» The Council of Ministers comes out with a package of decisions
» Despite integrity efforts...a parliamentary committee reveals the reasons for continuing corruption
» MP Thaer Al-Jubouri confirmed, on Thursday, that agricultural investment increased by 10% during the
» Complete decisions of the Council of Ministers session
» She confirmed the continuation of negotiations with the European Aviation Agency to obtain TCO certi
» Head of the Kurdistan Regional Government Representation Visits the Host of the Bani Hassan Emirate
» The government's silence on the foreign presence is an open trade in the country's security
» Iraqi Finance Ministry distances itself from salary delays: “Long” Eid holiday delayed funding
» Foreign army.. Controls in Amadiyah and military convoys penetrate the Kurdistan region
» Maysan Oil produces the first shipment of “liquid gas”
» Judicial directive regarding leaking and selling ministerial questions
» Integrity overthrows an employee at the Zurbatieh port customs center
» Al-Muthanna: Financial corruption detected in the General Company for the Implementation of Transpor
» Health announces a plan to establish 16 new hospitals
» Minister of Justice announces the imminent granting of electronic bonds to citizens in real estate d
» What is the truth about the mass resignations of advisors in the Presidency of the Republic?
» The President of the Republic ratifies the law to combat homosexuality
» The government activates the memorandums of understanding signed between Iraq and Turkey
» Government measures to deter generator owners.. What does the Supreme Judicial Council have to do wi
» Interior Ministry reveals details about border cameras: 90% coverage
» Abdul Wahid: Construction and Housing is the most corrupt ministry and its minister is a friend of t
» Voting begins in the Iranian presidential elections... and 14 centers in Iraq open their doors
» Ankara on its security operation in northern Iraq: We are working to develop control in the region
» “A non-deterrent punishment and the spread of hundreds of fake companies.” Fraud enters travel and t
» 2023.. The happiest year for Iraqis in the past decade
» The Iranian community votes in Iraq (photos)
» “National Bank violations” place the governor of the Central Bank before parliamentary accountabilit
» President approves laws including budget schedules, combating prostitution and homosexuality
» utube 6/25/24 MM&C Iraq Dinar - Iraq to Rejoin WTO - Cetral Bank Pressing Banks & Money Exhangers
» Judge Haider Hanoun: Imam Ali was the first to lay the foundations for the fight against corruption
» A Sunni agreement with the framework forces to elect Al-Halbousi's replacement
» Al-Atwani calls for reforming the tax system in Iraq
» Parliamentary Finance discusses strengthening financial management with the German Agency for Intern
» The Financial Supervision Bureau to Nina: A systematic plan to complete the state’s final accounts..
» The Minister of Transport and his Jordanian counterpart chair the general assembly meeting of the Ir
» The judiciary directs severe legal measures against those who leaked ministerial questions
» The file of tax deposits and compensation for victims of terrorism.. Slow procedures hinder retribut
» Arak Business: Türkiye is exploiting the Iraqi pipeline to export its oil
» Al-Muthanna Investment: The governorate is witnessing a qualitative boom in the size of projects
» Legal: Amending the constitution depends on political consensus
» Parliamentary Security: Sabotage operations in the electrical system during 2024 will be the lowest
» The popular movement explains the purpose of extending the Aqaba pipeline
» A Ukrainian company directly develops the Okaz gas field
» The Council of Ministers holds a make-up session for Eid
» The Central Bank of Iraq sells $275 million at auction today
» American monitoring reveals a Turkish military incursion into the Kurdistan Region and identifies it
» Iraq's oil exports exceeded 100 million barrels in May
» Allawi: Iraq is living in an undeclared civil war, and we must correct it before we lose it
» Is Iraq among them?.. Kuwait’s most prominent challenges towards the “Belt and Road” project
» The President of the Republic stresses the necessity of protecting water bodies, including lakes and
» Parliament moves to amend the Medical Graduation Law and directs a request to the government regardi
» A new decline in the dollar against the Iraqi dinar in Baghdad
» Qatar joins Iraq and Saudi Arabia in sending crude supplies to the UAE
» Directly rehabilitating 62 localities in Baghdad
» https://alsabaah.iq/98640-.htmlAl-Sudani: Iraq is a safe and attractive environment for capital
» Hundreds of low-voltage transformers installed in Baghdad
» Haider Makiya: Iraq is an “important destination” and we are witnessing an improvement in the invest
» Parliament: The cosmetic market is thriving and the government stops “intruders”
» 3000 projects compete to win the {national competition}
» Sulaymaniyah hosts the “Made in Iraq” exhibition
» Anbar opens a line to produce organic fertilizers using solar energy
» Transport is intensifying its efforts to lift the European ban on the green bird
» Parliament: Amending the investment law will reflect positively on the future
» No meters or pricing...Governmental decisions are “broken” on the rock of generator owners
» The Minister of Labor calls for intensifying inspection tours of work sites to follow up on safety p
» Parliamentary law challenges the “2024 budget tables” and the federal government is waiting for an a
» A foreign army... takes control in Amadiyah and military convoys penetrate the Kurdistan region
» The new “Arab-Kurdish” disintegration... Alekti reveals the common denominator between the “anti-Kur
» The Commission extends the registration period for candidates for the Kurdistan Parliament elections
» Diyala Council is “stuck in a black legal hole”... It cannot be held or dissolved - urgent
» He discussed with the American Ambassador the end of the mission of the international coalition... T
» He discussed with the American Ambassador the end of the mission of the international coalition... T
» Civil Defense puts the blame on the citizen for the high rates of fires, and an economist shows: Res
» Planning publishes experimental population census data
» Al-Sudani confirms the progress of completing the automation system for customs
» Al-Sudani chairs the 8th meeting of the Reconstruction and Investment Committee
» Transportation: Postponing the opening of Baghdad Airport to citizens
» Telecommunications signs a contract for the submarine cable project with Saudi Arabia
» A positive signal from the European Union regarding international investment in Iraq
» Al-Sudani renews his support for holding Kurdistan parliament elections
» UNAMI welcomes setting a date for Kurdistan elections
» A parliamentary directive to amend the medical progression law