Chinese Man Illegally in the U.S. Indicted on 309 Felony Charges in Ohio for Role in Gift Card Counterfeiting Scheme

Gift Cards

A Chinese man who entered the U.S. illegally has been indicted by a Coshocton County grand jury on 309 felony charges related to a gift card counterfeiting scheme, according to Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost’s office.

Ming Xue, 32, of Hunan, Fujian – a province on the southeastern coast of China – faces 308 counts of counterfeiting and one count of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity, according to Yost’s office.

Read the full story

Biden Admin Is Deporting Far Fewer Chinese Nationals amid Record Border Crossings

The Biden administration has removed comparatively low numbers of Chinese nationals in recent years despite record levels of migrants from China crossing the southern border illegally, according to federal data.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) recorded 288 removals of Chinese nationals in fiscal year 2023, 127 in fiscal year 2022 and 138 in fiscal year 2021, according to the data. All the while, Border Patrol recorded 24,000 encounters of Chinese migrants crossing the southern border illegally in fiscal year 2023, 1,970 in fiscal year 2022 and 323 in fiscal year 2021, according to CBP data.

Read the full story

Illegal Chinese Pot Grows Are Taking over Maine and Law Enforcement Isn’t Stopping Them

Illegal marijuana grows run by Chinese nationals have sprung up all across the state of Maine, and residents say law enforcement isn’t doing enough to stop their spread.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) identified 270 suspected Chinese illegal marijuana grow operations in the state that could be making an estimated $4.37 billion in revenue, which are often used for more criminal activities or are sent back to China, the DCNF exclusively reported in August. The DCNF visited dozens of properties identified as suspected Chinese marijuana grows by the DHS memo, as well as other locations reported to be possible Chinese marijuana grows by The Maine Wire.

Read the full story

Wisconsin U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher’s Committee on the Chinese Communist Party Issues Subpoena in Chinese Lab Probe

The Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party led by U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI-08) issued its first subpoena in the committee’s ongoing investigation into the clandestine Chinese laboratory that local authorities uncovered in Reedley, California.

“It is deeply disturbing that a Chinese company set up a clandestine facility in small-town America that contained, per the CDC, ‘at least 20 potentially infectious agents’ like HIV and the deadliest known form of malaria. We are grateful to the city of Reedley for their cooperation,” Gallagher said in a statement.

Read the full story

U.S. Probing More Than 100 Incidents of Chinese Nationals Entering Military Bases and Weapons Sites

More than 100 incidents where Chinese nationals have accessed or neared U.S. military bases and other sensitive locations have sparked suspicions of a wider espionage campaign driven by Beijing, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing U.S. officials.

The FBI, Department of Defense and other agencies have dubbed the situation, where Chinese nationals appear to feign accidentally approaching high-security U.S. military installations and other federal sites, “gate crashing,” and held a review in 2022 to figure out a way to tamp down on the incidents, the WSJ reported, citing the officials. The officials said the practice appears intended to stress-test security measures at the military sites as a form of low-effort reconnaissance or espionage.

Read the full story

U.S. Authorities on Alert After Discovering New Chinese Migrant Smuggling Route in Florida

by Jennie Taer   Federal authorities are growing increasingly concerned about a route Chinese migrants are utilizing to make their way to Florida illegally, according to an internal federal intelligence report obtained exclusively by the Daily Caller News Foundation. The report states that law enforcement lacks information regarding who is coordinating the smuggling between the Bahamas and Florida, where the migrants are being staged in the Bahamas and why Chinese migrants are choosing the Caribbean island. It also references recent incidents of Chinese nationals entering Florida illegally via the Bahamas. There have been five such incidents of Chinese migrants attempting to “self-smuggle” from the Bahamas, according to the report. One incident took place on July 16 and involved a group of six Chinese migrants. “The Chinese purchased a Bahamian registered vessel in GBI [Grand Bahama Island] and tested the capabilities before leaving and being interdicted in Palm Beach. All 6 Chinese migrants were repatriated to the Bahamas,” the report stated of the latest interdiction. Border Patrol agents stationed in Florida have seen a spike in arrests of illegal migrants from China, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) data. Agents apprehended 27 illegal migrants from China in Florida between October 2022…

Read the full story

Border Authorities Detail Smuggling Routes, Warn of Greater Surge in Chinese Illegally Crossing Into US

Border authorities in the U.S. are expecting a further increase in the number of Chinese migrants crossing illegally at the southern border, and have identified key ways they are entering the country, according to an internal U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) document exclusively obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation.

The document, which was circulated via an internal email to CBP personnel, warns of more Chinese nationals entering the U.S. via the southern border due to a broader message from smugglers about routes into the country. The document details key smuggling routes, and notes that the Chinese nationals are entering in higher numbers due to religious persecution against the Christian faith.

Read the full story

Border Patrol: Record Number of Chinese Nationals Entering U.S. Illegally

The number of Chinese nationals illegally entering the U.S. has significantly increased under the Biden administration, beginning around the 2020 election, according to U.S. Customs and Border Protection data. 

Nationwide, 18,395 Chinese nationals were apprehended in fiscal 2020; 23,471 in fiscal 2021; 27,756 in fiscal 2022; and 10,587 in the fiscal year to date. 

Read the full story

Georgia Tech Professor ‘Abused His Position’ by ‘Fraudulently’ Helping Chinese Nationals Get U.S. Visas, DOJ Says

Georgia Tech professor Dr. Gee-Kung Chang

A Georgia Institute of Technology professor accused of using the college’s J-1 Visa Program to “arrange for Chinese nationals to fraudulently obtain and maintain J-1 Visas” was arraigned in a federal court in Georgia, the Department of Justice announced on Wednesday.

Gee-Kung Chang, who was indicted by a grand jury on March 18, pleaded not guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit visa fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud, and wire fraud, according to a press release. Chang’s alleged co-conspirator, Jianjun Yu, was also arraigned, joining him in what U.S. Attorney Kurt Erskine called “The first step toward holding them accountable” for running a tightly orchestrated scheme that placed Chinese nationals at ZTE USA in New Jersey.

ZTE USA is a subsidiary of ZTE Corporation, a technology company partly owned by the Chinese Communist Party. On March 3, Secretary of State Antony Blinken said the Chinese Communist Party represents America’s “biggest geopolitical test of the 21st century.”

Read the full story