An illegal immigrant from China was arrested after allegedly driving onto a military installation in California. The news came amid increased concern over the number of Chinese nationals and individuals on the federal terrorism watchlist in the country amid an unprecedented wave of illegal immigration in the last several years.
The unnamed Chinese national was arrested Wednesday after entering a Marine Corps base in California. The illegal immigrant allegedly entered the base without authorization and did not respond to orders to leave.
“Despite being prompted to exit at the Condor gate by installation security, the individual proceeded onto the installation without authorization. Military law enforcement were immediately notified and detained the individual,” said a Marine Corps spokesperson.
The migrant was arrested by Customs and Border Protection (CBP). The exact cause of the trespassing is currently under investigation.
There have been more than 22,000 southern border encounters with Chinese nationals since October.
An estimated seven million illegal immigrants are estimated to have entered the country since President Joe Biden took office in 2021. This included a record three million migrant encounters along the nation’s borders last year.
Furthermore, December 2023 included the highest number of attempted crossings in American history, at more than 300,000. It was the first time that the number of such encounters exceeded 300,000 in history.
There is increased concern about the number of attempted crossings by individuals on the federal terrorism watchlist. Last year a number of lawmakers issued a letter to Biden calling for increased enforcement over the issue.
In FY 2023, 169 migrants with positive terrorism watchlist matches were apprehended along our southern border.
Led a group of colleagues in asking Biden Admin to bolster border and internal security measures following Hamas attacks in Israel and other global terror threats. pic.twitter.com/tdBOHapU2h
— Senator Todd Young (@SenToddYoung) October 30, 2023
The lawmakers wrote that they expected Biden “to take every necessary step to ensure the protection of the homeland and to both prioritize and resource this task accordingly.”
“Although the exact affiliations and identities of these individuals remain classified, the marked increase is alarming. Even if these apprehensions represent a minority, the potential devastation from a single individual with malign intentions cannot be overstated,” read the letter.
The lawmakers cited 169 migrant encounters of those on the watchlist in 2023.
