The US military and its “critical installations” are being put “at risk” by Chinese nationals freely entering US territories, sometimes illegally, it has been claimed.
The Joe Biden administration has come under fire from more than two dozen members of Congress, who claim the president has not done enough to prevent the influx of Chinese nationals.
They are taking advantage of what has been called “visa loopholes” to cross into Guam via the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI).
Once in Guam, they are potentially able to access the US’s “critical military installations”, which senators have claimed will help China “infiltrate” the US.
Senator Joni Ernst of Iowa argued that Xi Jinping and his Communist Party will “stop at nothing” to gain access to the US’s military secrets, and this is just another way to achieve that mission.
She told Newsweek: “The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has already proven they will stop at nothing to infiltrate the United States, and that threat is increasing every day as Chinese nationals use a visa loophole to gain access to our critical military installations in Guam.
“Instead of listening to my calls to close this gap and prevent further CCP espionage, the Biden administration dragged their feet for four months and now is defending an outdated policy.”
The “outdated policy” at the centre of this debate is called the the Consolidated Natural Resources Act 2008 (CNRA).
It’s a Visa Waiver Program sponsored by the US Customs and Border Protection that allows Chinese nationals to enter Guam through the CNMI without needing a business or tourism visa, as long as they don’t stay longer than 14 days.
In November last year, Senator Ernst and Representative Neal Dunn of Florida sent a letter to Alejandro Mayorkas, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary, voicing their concern over the act.
Ernst added: “Make no mistake, they are putting our military secrets at risk. We must change this visa policy and put an end to Chinese nationals accessing our military installations on US territories for any malign activity.”
The DHS responded: “DHS remains vigilant in its screening and vetting duties, which focus on rooting out exploitation of our immigrant and nonimmigrant visa processes, including by identifying, and where necessary denying entry to, high-risk travelers.”
Dunn slammed this as not good enough, calling the government’s response “willful ignorance” as they “fail to see” the “critical” nature of ammending the policy.
He also told the outlet: “They fail to see why it’s critical that we must implement the requirement of a B-1/B-2 [business/tourism] visa to enter the CMNI to successfully deter the Chinese Communist Party’s aggression and transnational repression.
“Look how DHS handles our border crisis. We cannot risk the same thing occurring in the CMNI.”
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