Democrats on the House Homeland Security Committee are dismissing an upcoming hearing on the sharp rise in Chinese illegal immigration as "invasion rhetoric" and "fearmongering" -- sparking a sharp response from their Republican counterparts.
The Republican majority is holding a hearing on Thursday about the spike in Chinese migration, called "Security Risk: The unprecedented surge in Chinese illegal immigration." The hearing is being held by the subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations and Accountability.
It comes as officials at the southern border have encountered more than 1,200 Chinese illegal immigrants in the first eight days of May, averaging more than 150 a day.
MASSIVE NUMBER OF MIGRANTS FROM THIS FOREIGN ADVERSARY ARE ILLEGALLY ENTERING US
Overall, across the border, numbers of Chinese nationals have increased dramatically since FY 2021. There were 1,970 encounters in FY 2022, over 24,000 in FY 2023 and so far this fiscal year, there have been over 24,200 encounters.
Republicans and some border officials have raised concerns about the potential for espionage, as well as the smuggling of drugs like fentanyl.
However, on the Democrats’ website, the hearing listing instead says "Another Republican border ‘hearing’ with invasion rhetoric and fearmongering."
A committee spokesperson told Fox Digital that the minority expects Republicans to use the hearing "to "employ hyperbolic and xenophobic rhetoric to scaremonger about a ‘foreign invasion’ at the border."
"But the facts show that changes to Chinese migration reflect deteriorating economic and political conditions in China, and broader shifts in global migration patterns," they said. "Responding to those shifts requires congressional action, including bipartisan legislation and additional funding for border security – which Republicans consistently oppose or block."
Republicans on the committee described the dismissiveness as "disappointing."
"It’s sad that House Democrats’ response to this hearing sounds more like Chinese state media than anything else," Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Accountability Chairman Dan Bishop told Fox News Digital.
BORDER PATROL SECTOR STOPS HUNDREDS OF CHINESE ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS IN JUST TWO DAYS AS NUMBERS SOAR
"This fiscal year, apprehensions of Chinese nationals by Border Patrol agents at our Southwest border already exceed those from fiscal years 2007 - 2020 combined," he said. "It should be extremely alarming to everyone, regardless of party, when record numbers of individuals from an adversarial nation flood into our country without vetting or oversight. House Democrats are clearly uninterested in combating this national security threat, which is disappointing — but not surprising."
Meanwhile, Rep. Carlos Gimenez, R-Fla., who serves on both the House Homeland Security Committee and the new Select Committee on China, stressed the importance of combating the threat from China and securing the border.
"The Communist Party of China has proven that it will stop at nothing to undermine the United States, including weaponizing migration, in its cynical quest to be the world’s dominant military & economic power by the year 2049," he said.
"The Biden Administration continues its pathetic campaign to appease Communist China, while the regime in Beijing plays an active role with Mexican drug cartels to smuggle lethal fentanyl across our border — killing over 100,000 Americans last year alone," he said. "We must secure our border and address the unprecedented surge in those entering our country illegally, especially from Communist China."
The back-and-forth is the latest Chinese-based controversy for committee members. In 2020, it was reported that a suspected Chinese spy had interacted with Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., who is on the committee. She had allegedly targeted a number of Bay Area Democrats -- including Swalwell -- and interacted with him, including helping place an intern in his office, before he was alerted by the FBI of Fang’s behavior in 2015 – at which point he cut contact with her. A subsequent House Ethics Committee investigation reviewed the allegations but found no wrongdoing last year.
Get the latest updates on the ongoing border crisis from the Fox News Digital immigration hub.
