Biden admin effectively fast-tracks interview process for Chinese migrants illegally crossing southern border: Report

The Biden administration’s Customs and Border Protection has effectively fast-tracked the interview vetting process for Chinese migrants who have illegally crossed the southern border, the Daily Caller News Foundation first reported.

According to an April email obtained by the DCNF from a former law enforcement official, a CBP supervisor instructed roughly 500 Border Patrol agents to reduce the number of interview questions posed to Chinese migrants who illegally entered the country from approximately 40 to five.

“Headquarters guidance has been received regarding Chinese nationals in our custody,” the email reads. “There is no requirement for 100% Chinese in depth interviews or phone downloads.”

The email noted that illegal immigrants from China are only to be “asked the basic questions,” which included information regarding “Military Service,” “Universities,” “POB/Region,” “Employment,” and “Political Party.”

Chinese migrants who have served in the military, attended certain universities, are from Xinjiang, or are affiliated with the Communist Party of China are “referred and transported… for an in-depth interview by Tactical Terrorism Response Team,” the email obtained by DCNF added. Those who worked as a government employee or in the science, technology, medical, or financial industry are also referred for additional questioning, according to the email.

Alternatively, for those who “do not alert to the above, there is no requirement to further delay current processing pathway — NTA/OR [Notice to Appear/Order of Recognizance],” the CBP supervisor wrote.

Additional documents obtained by the DCNF revealed that most apprehended illegal immigrants are asked a significantly longer list of questions, including information regarding prior arrests, purpose of travel, their phone’s International Mobile Equipment Identity and serial number, foreign address, religion, social media accounts, and whether they have handled weapons. Migrants are also asked to provide the names of their mother and father, according to the document.

J.J. Carrell, a retired CBP deputy patrol agent in charge, told the DCNF that the supervisor’s instruction to reduce the number of interview questions effectively fast-tracks the release of Chinese illegal immigrants into the interior of the country and simultaneously makes it more challenging for border agents to identify security threats.

“This policy change has accelerated the time it takes to process Chinese illegal immigrants — this doesn’t make America safer,” Carrell stated. “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 continued. “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.”

The former official who provided the email to DCNF told the outlet that human smugglers would use the sped-up process to their advantage, instructing Chinese migrants on how to answer the questions to move through the vetting process as quickly as possible.

“It was almost immediate where [the Chinese illegal immigrants] knew what to say and what not to say,” the former official warned.

Carrell told the DCNF that migrants’ “stories are identical” and that human smugglers run “highly coordinated” operations that coach migrants “from the beginning of the journey.”

After answering the five questions, Chinese illegal migrants could be released into the U.S. and provided a court date that is several years away, according to the former official. Before the April directive to reduce the number of questions, it took agents approximately four hours to process one Chinese illegal immigrant, the former government official added.

The Department of Homeland Security and CBP did not respond to the DCNF’s requests for comment.

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