A border security expert recently warned that the surge in Chinese illegal immigrants who entered the United States under former President Joe Biden’s administration presents a national security concern. The warning comes after President Donald Trump’s administration deported 122 illegal immigrants to China last month.

Heritage Foundation Border Security and Immigration Center Director Lora Ries told Fox News that the increase in Chinese nationals illegally entering the United States under the Biden administration is “absolutely” a concern regarding national security.

The House Committee on Homeland Security previously reported that more than 23,376 Chinese nationals were encountered at the southern border and 24,214 were apprehended in Fiscal Year 2024. The committee also reported that encounters with Chinese nationals at the border increased by more than 8,000 percent in March of 2024 compared to March of 2021.

“The numbers rose rapidly during the Biden administration. I mean, pre-Biden, Customs and Border Protection would see about 1,000 Chinese nationals a month nationwide, whether that was at the ports of entry or between ports of entry,” Ries said. “And, during Biden’s four years, that rose rapidly to 2,000, up to 7,000 a month. It even hit over 8,000 one month in December of 2023. And most of these were between the ports of entry.”

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Ries added, “Given the many tactics that the Chinese Communist Party uses against the U.S. — whether that is sending fentanyl precursor ingredients to Mexico to be smuggled into the U.S., killing hundreds of thousands of Americans, COVID-19 from Wuhan, spy balloons, buying farmland near military bases — we have to assume that the CCP took advantage of the open border during Biden’s years and sent many Chinese nationals with mal-intent.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced last month that the Trump administration deported 122 illegal immigrants to China on June 3 on a “special high risk charter flight.” ICE officials confirmed that some of the illegal immigrants were convicted of human smuggling, rape, murder, drug trafficking, and bribery.

“Through our interagency partnerships and coordination across ICE field offices, we have successfully removed these individuals, many who were convicted of egregious crimes,” ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations Dallas Acting Field Office Director Josh Johnson said in a press release. “This operation not only enhances the public safety of our communities across the U.S. but also strengthens national security.”