A U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) internal e-mail obtained by the Daily Caller News Foundation (DCNF) instructs CBP personnel to drastically reduce the number of interview questions from Chinese migrants apprehended after illegally entering the U.S. As DCNF reports, rather than the standard 40-or-so questions, Chinese nationals were to be asked only five. The April 2023 e-mail said that Chinese illegal aliens who successfully answered the five “basic questions” were to be released into the U.S. interior. “If they do not alert to the above, there is no requirement to further delay current processing pathway — NTA/OR,” the e-mail states. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) says “NTA/OR” is an abbreviation for “Notice to Appear” / “Order of Recognizance,” which allows illegal aliens entry into the U.S. with a future court date. The five questions concern military service, universities, place of birth, employment, and political party — questions to draw out potential ties to the Chinese Communist Party or Chinese military. “If there is a Yes to any of the above, they are then referred and transported to” an unspecified location where they will undergo “an in-depth interview by Tactical Terrorism Response Team,” the e-mail states. Scaling back the interview has fast-tracked Chinese illegal aliens into the U.S. while making it tougher for authorities to identify national security threats, J.J. Carrell, a retired CBP deputy patrol agent in charge, told DCNF. “This policy change has accelerated the time it takes to process Chinese illegal immigrants — this doesn’t make America safer,” Carrell said. “The final result is that dangerous Chinese illegal immigrants will still be released into the U.S.” “This is just the government covering their ass, so they can say they vetted,” Carrell explained. “I believe the government recognizes the threat of Chinese soldiers and spies that are pouring into America, and they want to try and identify these individuals. However, the same government does not want to stop the flow of illegal aliens or Chinese nationals — just the ‘bad ones,’ which is impossible.” Over the past year, more than 24,000 Chinese nationals have been apprehended while entering the U.S. through the southern border with Mexico, a number higher than the previous 10 years combined, according to The New York Times. Tammy Lin, an immigration attorney and adjunct professor at the University of San Diego, says that the increase in Chinese migrants is because of the country’s political climate and lack of economic opportunities. “When looking at everything going on in the world it’s not surprising that it’s like this,” she said during a recent interview. “Processing times in U.S. embassies in China are taking so long, it’s getting harder for them to get tourist visas. Some of these folks used to come here as tourists and students before ultimately deciding, ‘I can’t return to my country,’ and seeking asylum,” said Lin. “Now they can’t get into the U.S. that way, so they take these desperate measures to do the journey over from China, over to Mexico or South America and over to the U.S. border.”The Biden administration severely weakened security screenings for Chinese illegal aliens entering the U.S., according to government records.
