by Filip Lenczycki
Espionage, illegal immigration and other illegal activities linked to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) have increased dramatically under the Biden-Harris administration, according to a House report obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation.
And “Threat Snapshot in China” released Thursday by the House Homeland Security Committee’s Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement and Intelligence Subcommittee details 59 “CCP-related” criminal cases that occurred in 20 U.S. states between February 2021 and August 2024. The cases listed in the committee’s report involve a range of alleged criminal activities, including bribery, burglary and theft of trade secrets.
“The Chinese Communist Party is not satisfied with destroying freedoms and repressing its citizens within its own borders,” Tennessee Republican Mark Green, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told DCNF. “Beijing has continually violated American sovereignty to spy on, intimidate and harass not only defectors but even American citizens.”
China Threat Snapshot presents statistics showing how CCP-related activities have “rapidly expanded” across the United States in recent years.
“Approximately 80% of economic espionage prosecutions are based on conduct that would benefit the Chinese state, and approximately 60% of all trade secret theft cases have at least some connection to China,” the report says. Allegations of trade secret theft appear in 14 of the 59 CCP-related criminal cases included in the commission’s report.
In one example mentioned, this is the Department of Justice accused Chenguang Gong, a Chinese national living in California, was charged with trade secret theft in February 2024 for allegedly uploading thousands of files from his employer to his personal devices. According to the commission’s report, some of these files allegedly contained “information about sensors designed to detect nuclear missiles, as well as other sensitive technologies.”
The “China Threat Snapshot” noted that between 2000 and 2023, “224 incidents of Chinese espionage against the U.S.” were reported, with the most affected states being California, Illinois, New York, Ohio and Florida.
The committee’s report also highlights a number of recent U.S. government efforts to counter the CCP’s malicious activities, such as the SHIELD Against CCP Act, which seeks to “create a task force within the Department of Homeland Security to address counterterrorism, cybersecurity, border and security threats ports and transportation provided to the United States by the Chinese Communist Party,” According to to the bill.
Meanwhile, the House Homeland Security Committee also warned on Thursday about a recent boost in illegal immigration to China.
“The Biden-Harris administration has overseen the largest influx of Chinese nationals illegally crossing the southwest border,” a press release from the House Homeland Security Committee said. “In FY24 alone, Border Patrol agents recorded more than 36,000 apprehensions of Chinese nationals – more than all apprehensions recorded in FY20 combined.”
The Biden Administration Drastically Simplified the Vetting Process for Chinese Illegal Immigrants in 2023, Increasing the Speed for Chinese Nationals Entering the U.S., DCNF reported in January after receiving a leaked email from U.S. Customs and Border Protection. An April 2023 email told Border Patrol agents to reduce the number of interview questions asked of Chinese illegal immigrants apprehended after illegally entering the country from about 40 to just five “basic questions.”
North Carolina Republican Dan Bishop, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee’s Oversight Subcommittee, held hearing in May 2024 to examine the approximately 8,000% boost in illegal Chinese immigration into the U.S. since March 2021, as well as federal policies that may have contributed to this boost.
“Unfortunately, under the Biden administration, Border Patrol agents have been instructed to conduct compact, basic interviews that only ask general questions, rather than in-depth interviews, when processing applications for Chinese nationals. In other words, there is… pic.twitter.com/xt91kkV8mM
— Philip Lenczycki 蔡岳 (@LenczyckiPhilip) May 16, 2024
Most recently DCNF revealed the existence of a private social networking site run by a self-proclaimed Chinese “cyber police” officer that provides Chinese illegal immigrants with the means to enter the US and bypass border authorities. This internet network also appears to be aiding and abetting prostitution and sex trafficking into the United States, DCNF outdoor.
“To be clear, our adversary is not with the Chinese people, but the threat comes from a tyrannical regime that oppresses its own people, commits genocide, censors speech and seeks to undermine representative government,” Green, a Republican, said. “It is important that we remain clear-eyed about the threat the CCP poses to the security of the American people, and we stand ready to oppose its malign influence at every turn.”
The White House did not immediately respond to DCNF’s request for comment.
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Philip Lenczycki is a reporter for the Daily Caller News Foundation.
